PROCEEDINGS 

OP  THE  MISSOURI  STATE 

RADICAL  EMANCIPATION  AND  UNION 

CONY  E  N  TI O  IN', 

Convened  at  Jefferson  City,  Tuesday,  September  1st,  1863, 

Speeches,  resolutions,  &c. 


(From  the  Missouri  -Democrat's  Special  Report.) 


JEFFERSON  CITY,  August  31,  1863. 

To-morrow’s  Convention  promises  to  be  the 
largest  gathering  of  chosen  representatives  of 
the  people  that  has  ever  taken  place  in  the  State. 
The  number  of  strangers  in  the  city  is  very 
large.  Many  delegates  arrived  by  private  con¬ 
veyance  on  Saturday  and  yesterday,  and  every 
train  to-day  (Monday)  has  augmented  the  crowd 
materially,  until  at  the  present  writing  there 
must  be  present  fully  five  hundred  delegates, 
not  to  speak  of  the  large  number  of  prominent 
politicians  and  spectators  who  are  not  regularly 
chosen  delegates,  but  who,  nevertheless,  are 
deeply  interested  in  this  great  gathering  of  the 
patriotic,  loyal  masses. 

The  St.  Louis  train,  bearing  about  three  hun¬ 
dred  delegates,  did  not  arrive  until  nine  o’clock 
in'the  evening.  Arriving  at  the  depot,  the  del¬ 
egates  and  others  formed  in  procession,  headed 
by  Boehm”s  brass  band,  and  proceeded  at 
once  to  the  State  House,  where  the  delegates 
already  arrived  had  assembled,  in  obedience  to 
the  call  of  the  local  committee  of  arrangements. 
When  all  had  entered  it  was  found  that  the  large 
hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  was  entirely 
inadequate  to  accommodate  those  then  present 
with  any  degree  of  comfort.  Every  available 
foot  of  space  in  front  of  the  Speaker’s  desk,  the 
aisles,  etc.,  was  crowded.  The  delegates  were 
all  intelligent  looking  men,  whose  frank,  hon¬ 
est,  pleasant  countenances,  showed  conclusively 
to  what  party  they  belonged,  and  whose  deco- 
rus  conduct  and  admirable  order,  were  eviden¬ 
ces  of  the  deep  interest  taken  by  them  in  the  sub¬ 
ject  that  had  called  them  together. 

THE  PRELIMINARY  MKETINfi 

was  organized  by  Captain  W.  F.  Wells,  of  Put¬ 
nam  county,  nominating  Colonel  Pratt,  of  Linn 
county,  for  temporary  chairman. 


Colonel  Pratt  came  forward  and  called  upon 
Judge  Clover,  of  St.  Louis  county,  to  state  the 
object  of  the  meeting.  The  Judge  briefly  in¬ 
formed  the  assembly  that  the  meeting  had  been 
called  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  num¬ 
ber  of  delegates  present,  and  determining  where 
the  Convention  should  be  held. 

A  discussion  arose  upon  the  subject,  in  which 
Captain  Wells,  of  Linn  county,  Mr.  Nitchey, 
of  Cole  county,  Charles  D.  Drake,  of 
St.  Louis,  C.  P.  Johnson,  of  St.  Louis, 
and  Captain  Love,  of  Linn  county,  took  part. 
Eventually  the  meeting  decided  to  hold  the  Con¬ 
vention  at  the  Fair  Grounds,  one  mile  and  a 
half  east  of  the  city — the  Convention  to  convene 
at  nine  o’clock  to-morrow  morning. 

Colonel  Walter  C.  Gantt,  of  St.  Louis,  was, 
on  motion,  appointed  temporary  Secretary. 

On  motion  of  Captain  Love,  of  Linn  county, 
it  was  decided  that  the  delegates  assemble  at  the 
State  House  at  half-past  eight  o’clock  to-morrow 
morning,  form  in  procession,  and  proceed  in  a 
body  to  the  Fair  Grounds. 

Colonel  B.  Gratz  Brown  and  General  Beu. 
Loan  were  appointed  marshals,  whereupon  the 
meeting  adjourned. 

LATER  IN  THE  EVENING 

the  band  proceeded  to  the  Jefferson  House,  fol 
lowed  by  several  hundred  persons,  who 
called  for  General  Loan,  who  made 
his  appearance  on  the  verandah  and  brief¬ 
ly  addressed  the  assembly.  Congressman 
McClurg,  C.  P.  Johnson  and  Colonel  Boyd, 
M.  C.,  were  also  called  out  and  made  brief  and 
pointed  speeches.  Still  the  people. jvere  not  sat¬ 
isfied  and  they  adjourned  to  the  Virginia  House, 
where  loud  calls  were  made  for  Ex-Governor 
Stewart,  Colonel  James  Lindsay,  of  Southeast 
Missouri,  B.  Gratz  Brown  and  C.  D.  Drake. 


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Messrs.  Lindsay  and  Drake  were  present  and 
responded  to  the  compliments  paid  them  in 

effective  speeches. 

The  people  then  proceeded  to  the  residence  of 
Judge  Wells  at  Jefferson,  who  in  obedience  to 
the  call  made  his  appearance  and  entertained 
his  tftidience  in  a  short  address  of  much  earnest¬ 
ness  and  power,  in  which  he  handled  the  Gam¬ 
ble  faction  withoutgloves.  This  closed  the  pro¬ 
ceedings  for  the  day. 

The  most  ample  accommodations  have  been 
made  by  the  committee  of  arrangements  to  ac¬ 
commodate  delegates  who  cannot  obtain  quar¬ 
ters  at  the  hotels,  and  the  loyal  citizens  with  a 
commendable  hospitality,  have  thrown  opeh 
their  doors  to  the  vistors  from  a  distance. 

SECOND  DAY’S  PROCEEDINGS. 

Jefferson  City,  Sept.  l. 

At  the  hour  appointed  this  morning  the  dele¬ 
gates  repaired  to  the  State  House,  where  they 
were  formed  into  procession  by  Gen.  Smith,  of 
Pettis,  and  Capt.  Love,  of  Linn  county.  The  pro¬ 
cession,  headed  by  the  band,  proceeded  at  once 
to  the  Fair  Grounds,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
city.  As  the  procession  moved  along  High 
street  a  splendid  appearance  was  presented,  and 
all  along  the  route  they  were  welcomed  by.  the 
loyal  residents  by  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs, 
the  display  of  flags,  banners,  and  cheers.  The 
day  was  exceedingly  warm,  and  by  the  time  the 
ground  was  reached  everybody  had  made  up 
his  mind  that  a  walk  to  and  from  the  Fair 
Grounds  twice  a  day  was  unconstitutional , 
and  “  would  not  pay,”  and  a  general 
desire  was  expressed  to  hold  the  Convention  in 
the  city,  even  if  a  few  inconveniences  would 
have  to  be  experienced. 

The  large  amphitheatre  was  well  suited  for  a 
meeting  of  two  or  three  thousand,  but  for  a 
gathering  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  it  was  found 
to  be  very  difficult  to  arrange  the  stand  so  that 
business  could  be  properly  transacted  and  the 
speakers  easily  eard.  In  consequence,  a  tem¬ 
porary  stand  was  erected  at  the  east  side  of  the 
interior  of  the  amphitheatre,  and  the  delegates 
collected  about  it  in  easy  distance. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  D. 
Wagner,  of  Lewis  county,  who  nominated  Col. 
Boyd  for  temporary  Chairman. 

Walter  L.  Lovelace,  of  Montgomery,  was 
appointed  temporary  Secretary. 

Colonel  Boyd  briefly  returned  thanks  for  the 
honor  conferred  upon  Southwestern  Missouri  in 
thus  honoring  a  delegate  from  that  section  to 
preside  over  a  Convention  composed  of  so  many 
distinguished  men,  who  had  come  here  to-day  to 
denounce  the  men  who  had  usurped  the  powers 
of  the  people. 

C.  P.  Johnson  moved  that  a  committee  of 
one  from  each  Congressional  District  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  chair  to  nominate  permanent  ofli- 
cers  of  this  Convention,  which  motion  was  unan¬ 
imously  adopted. 

The  chair  named  the  following  gentlemen: 

First  District — C.  H.  Howland,  of  St. 

Louis. 

Second  District — Dr.  George  Iiillgaertner,  of 
St.  Louis. 

Third  District — J.  H.  McWilliams,  of  Cape 
Girardeau  county. 

Fourth  District — J.  E.  p  Smith,  of  Greene 
couuty. 

Fitih  District— Dr.  Wm.  Curry,  of  Cole  county. 

Sixth  District — Judge  Carpenter,  of  Jackson 
county. 


Seventh  District — Colonel  W.  R.  Penick,  of 
Buchanan  county. 

Eighth  District — Colonel  J.  H.  Crane,  of  Clark 
county. 

Ninth  District — Fred.  Muench,  of  Warren 
county. 

The  chairman  suggested  the  propriety  of  the 
delegations  from  each  county  selecting  their 
foremen  while  the  committee  were  preparing 
their  report.  He  also  announced  that  a  dis¬ 
patch  had  just  been  received  announcing  that  a 
large  delegation  was  on  the  way  from  St.  Louis 
and  would  arrive  about  three  p.  m.;  also  that 
over  150  delegates  were  coming  in  on  the  North 
Missouri  railway,  and  they  would  arrive  at  the 
same  time.  This  announcement  was  received 
with  loud  cheers. 

Colonel  Jameson,  of  St.  Louis,  here  moved 
that  the  Convention  now  listen  to  a  speech  from 
Charles  D.  Drake,  and  that  at  its  conclusion 
the  Convention  adjourn  ;to  meet  at  the  State 
House,  at  three  o’clock,  p.  m.,  pending  which, 
the  committee  returned  and  announced  that  they 
were  prepared  to  nominate  permanent  officers : 
Mr.  Howland  said : 

Gentlemen — The  committee  have  nominated 
the  Hon.  Judge  Wells,  of  this  city,  as  Presi¬ 
dent. 

This  announcement  called  forth  loiuWmd  pro¬ 
longed  cheers  from  the  delegates  present. 

Mr.  Wells  was  then  introduced,  and  delivered 
one  of  the  best  address  that  has  ever  been  lis¬ 
tened  to  in  this  State.  Everybody  pronounced 
it  a  splended  effort,  worthy  of  the  author  Sand 
the  cause  which  it  supported. 

JUDGE  WELLS’S  SPEECH. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Canvention: 

I  return  you  many  and  sincere  thanks  for  the 
honor  conferred  and  kindness  manifested  in  se¬ 
lecting  me  to  preside  over  your  deliberations. 
I  will  discharge  my  duties  as  President  with 
impartiality,  and  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

Gentlemen,  the  people  of  Missouri  have  much 
to  complain  of  in  regard  to  the  action  both  of 
the  Federal  and  State  Governments.  But  the 
remedy  is  in  their  own  hands.  If  they  act  with 
sufficient  vigor,  determination,  and  unanimity, 
they  can,  I  think,  accomplish  all  they  desire. 
The  call  of  a  new  Convention  will  enable  them 
to  do  so.  And  it  is  only  by  the  call  of  such  con¬ 
vention  that  great  and  desired  reforms  can  now 
be  effected.  The  late  convention  has  designedly 
put  them  beyond  the  reach  of  ordinary  legisla¬ 
tion.  The  people  have  the  right  to  carry  on  their 
own  government  in  their  own  way,  and  accord¬ 
ing  to  their  own  judgment;  audit  the  people  of 
Missouri,  in  this  great  crisis  of  their  affairs, 
submitto  the  dictation,  usurpation  and  tyranny 
of  the  late  convention,  they  are  not  the  bold 
and  freedom-loving  people  I  take  them  to  be. 
To  the  call,  then,  or  a  new  Convention,  fresh 
from  the  people  and  fully  instructed,  all  our 
energies  should  be  directed.  It  can  accom¬ 
plish  three  great  objects,  which  will  cover  nearly 
every  minor  object. 

1st.  hirst  in  magnitude  and  importance  to 
Missouri  is  the  slavery  question.  It  is  of  trans¬ 
cendent  importance,  and  will  influence  the  des¬ 
tinies  of  our  noble  State  for  many  generations 
yet  unborn.  A  greater  question  was,  perhaps, 
never  proposed  for  discussion  and  settlement; 
and  I  declare  to  you,  gentlemen,  in  all  sincer¬ 
ity,  that  if  I  were  ever  so  favorably  disposed 
to  the  plan  proposed  by  the  late  Convention. 
I  would  yet  maintain  that  the  people,  in  our 
I  Republican  form  of  Government,  have  the  right 


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2' z<z,  £<3977? 

; 

and  ought  to  be  able  to  settle  it  in  their  own 
way  and  according  to  their  own  opinions  and 
judgment.  This,  in  my  opinion,  the  people 
have  not  been  permitted  to  do.  The  late  Con¬ 
vention  was  not  elected  in  the  slightest  de¬ 
gree  with  reference  to  the  subject  of  slavery, 
or  the  emancipation  of  slaves.  So  far  as  1 
know  or  have  heard,  there  was  not  one  candi¬ 
date  for  that  body  who  expressed  or  was  called 
upon  to  express  any  opinion  on  the  subject. 
The  members  of  the  Convention  were  elected 
for  purposes  altogether  different.  It  was,  there  ¬ 
fore,  manifestly  improper  for  that  body  to  un¬ 
dertake  to  finally  settle  that  great  subject. 
Indeed,  both  the  Provisional  Governor  and  the 
Convention  itself  were,  at  one  session,  so 
deeply  impressed  with  this  opinion,  and  of  the 
unfitness  of  the  Convention  to  act  on  the  sub¬ 
ject,  that  they  so  publicly  declared  by  their  of¬ 
ficial  acts.  Nothing  afterwards  occurred  which 
made  it  less  improper  for  that  body  to  act. 
The  Convention,  however,  passed  an  ordinance 
covering  the  whole  ground.  So  far,  i  is  man¬ 
ifest  the  people  of  the  State  had  no  more  con¬ 
trol  over  the  subject  than  they  had  over  affairs 
in  Canada.  But  an  opportunity  was  presented 
to  the  Convention  to  remedy,  in  some  degree, 
the  want  of  authority  from  the  people  to  act  on 
the  subject  and  to  procure  an  expression  of 
their  wishes  and  opinions.  The  ordinance 
could  have  been  submitted  to  the  peo¬ 
ple  for  their  ratification  or  rejection. 
Was  there  any  insurmountable  difficulty 
in  accomplishing  a  matter  so  impor¬ 
tant  and  so  necessary  and  proper?  When  the 
State  was  less  disturbed,  we  held  elections, 
without  serious  difficulty,  for  members  of  the 
entire  Legislature,  for  members  of  Congress,  for 
members  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Convention ; 
and  an  election  was  ordered  by  the  Convention, 
to  take  place  next  fall,  for  Judges  of  all  the 
courts.  Why,  then,  could  not  the  people  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  vote  on  the  ordinance?  Why  could 
they  not  vote  at  the  same  time  they  elected 
Judges  ?  I  have  seen  nothing  offered  by  any 
member  of  the  Convention  for  refusing  this 
right  to  the  people  which  can  be  called,  or  de¬ 
serves  to  be  called,  a  reason — they  were  mere 
'pretexts.  I  think  I  can  give  a  sample  from  mem¬ 
ory.  It  is  attributed  to  one  of  the  most  distin¬ 
guished  and  talented  members  of  the  Convention; 
and  is  about  as  reported  in  the  debates:  "If 
Meade  should  be  defeated  in  Pennsylvania ,  and 
Washington  City  should  be  taken  by  the  enemy ,  and 
Grant  and  Panics  be  defeated  at  Vicksburg  and  Port 
Hudson ,  and  Helena  should  be  captured,  and  Price 
should  then  invade  Missouri — the  danger  and  confus¬ 
ion  would  evidently  prevent  a  fair  and  full  vote  on  the 
ordinance.''1  Reminding  one  of  the  poor  girl 
who  was  weaving  and  crying  at  the  same  time : 
“  I  was  thinking ,”  said  she ,  “  if  I  were  married , 
and  had  a  dear  little  boy ,  who  was  running  about; 
and  then  my  shuttle  should  fly  out  and  hit  him  in 
the  eye  and  put  it  out ,  how  sorry  I  would  be.11 

Two  of  the  most  influential  members  of  the 
Convention,  who  denied  this  right  to  the  people, 
were  reported  in  the  published  debates  to  have 
declared  that,  if  the  ordinance  were  submitted, 
it  would  be  rejected  by  theyn.  Here  is.  no  doubt, 
a  confession  ol  the  true  reason  for  the  action  of 
the  Convention.  It  is  a  confession  that  they 
know  the  ordinance  was  so  distasteful  to  the 
people  that  it  would  be  rejected.  Yet  they 
passed  it,  and  attempted  to  compel  the  people 
to  swallow  it.  I  declare  I  have  never  known,  in 
these  United  States,  a  greater  assumption  of 


c 


power,  or  a  more  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  ex¬ 
ercise  of  it. 

’  I  know  it  has  been  alleged  that  Conventions 
have  not  unfrequently  passed  ordinances  and 
adopted  constitutions  without  submitting  them 
to  the  people.  Very  little  of  this  has  been  done 
in  modern  times,  and  I  am  not  aware  of  a  single 
instance,  ancient  or  modern,  in  these  United 
States,  where  it  has  been  done,  except  in  cases 
where  the  members  of  the  Convention  were 
elected  with  reference  to  that  very  subject ;  and 
after  a  full  and  free  interchange  of  sentiments 
and  opinions,  before  the  election,  between  the 
electors  and  the  candidates.  You  see,  therefore, 
that  the  people  have  not  been  allowed,  lirst  or 
last,  to  have  any  voice  in  or  control  over  this 
great  subject,  which  yet  the  Convention  has  at¬ 
tempted  to  settle  finally  and  irrevocably. 

But  the  ordinance  is,  in  my  judgment,  highly 
objectionable  in  many  particulars.  1  have  not 
time  nor  space  to  point  them  all  out. 

The  ordinance  declares  (section  2)  That  slave¬ 
ry  and  involuntary  servitude,  except  for  the 
punishment  of  crime,  shall  cease  to  exist  in 
Missouri  on  the  4 th  “ day  of  July ,  1870.”  The  or¬ 
dinance  then  provides  that  all  “ shall  remain 
under  the  control  and,  be  subject  to  the  authority  of 
the  masters11  /  and  that  “ the  masters  shall  have  the 
same  authority  and  control  over  them,  fur  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  securing  the  possession  and  services  of  the 
same,  that  are  now  held  absolutely  by  th \e 
master  in  respect  to  the  slare,11  for 
certain  periods — that  is,  those  over  forty 
years  of  age,  for  and  during  their 
lives,  those  under  twelve  years  of  age,  until  they 
arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  and  tho-e  of 
all  other  ages,  until  the  4th  day  of  July,  1876. 
It  is  then  provided  that  after  the  4th  day  of  July, 
1870,  they  shall  not  be  sold  to  a  non-resident  of 
or  be  removed  from  the  State:  but  no  penalty  is 
annexed  for  a  violation  of  this  provision,  and 
it  is  not  provided  that  a  violation  shall  operate 
to  free  the  slave. 

Slavery  is  defined  to  be  involuntary  servitude — 
and  slavery  and  involuntary  servitude  are 
used  in  the  act  of  Congress  of  1787,  and  in 
many  subsequent  acts  of  Congress,  and  in  this 
very  ordinance  as  synonymous,  or  as  meaning, 
substantially,  the  same  thing.  Worcester  de¬ 
fines  slavery  to  be  compulsory  servitude,  which  is 
the  same  as  involuntary  servitude.  Now,  if  the 
servitude  provided  for  in  the  ordinance,  which 
to  some  is  to  be  for  life,  others  until  they  are 
twenty -three  years  of  age,  and  all  others  until 
the  year  1876,  be  not  involuntary  servitude,  or  com¬ 
pulsory  servitude ,  that  is  slavery,  then  1  confess  I 
do  not  know  what  slavery  is.  It  is  compulsory 
on  the  slave,  because  he  is  allowed  no  choice 
and  he  can  be  and  will  be,  under  theordinauce, 
compelled  by  force  and  punishment  to  remain 
with  his  master  and  work  for  him,  without  con¬ 
tract  and  without  compensation.  The  master 
shall  have  the  same  a/uthority  and  control  over  them 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  possession  and  services 
of  the  same ,  that  are  now  held  absolutely  by  the  mas 
ter  in  respect  to  slaves.11  It  will  be  remarked  that 
the  ordinance  no  where  calls  this  servitude,  ap¬ 
prenticeship — nor  such  persons  apprentices — 

and  it  would  have  been  absurd  to  so 

call  it  or  them  ;  for,  it  has  not  the 
slighest  resemblance  to  apprenticeship. 

Apprenticeship  is  founded  on  contract  and 
compensation;  the  covenants  are  mutual,  and 
the  master  can  be  sued  on  the  contract  and  it 
can  be  enforced  against  him  or  annulled.  The 
master  is  under  no  legal  obligation,  by  the  ordi- 


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nance,  to  leave  this  slave  anything, ’vet  the  very 
meaning  of  the  word  apprentice  (French  ap- 
prendre )  is  to  learn,  nor  is  he  bound  to  pay  him 
anything  for  his  labor,  The  slave  has  no 
guardian  ;  and  neither  his  own  consent  or  that 
of  any  other  person  is  obtained  to  authorize  the 
master  to  hold  him  in  bondage  and  whip  him  as 
lawfully  as  he  could  any  other  slave.  Who 
ever  heard  of  an  apprenticeship  for  life,  and  all 
the  apprentice  could  earn  to  belong  to  the 
master?  1  hope  no  lawyer  will  call  this  an 
apprenticeship. 

We  have  all  this  slavery  after  the  year  18*70, 
and,  with  a  large  number,  it  is  to  continue  for 
life  ;  and  yet  the  ordinance  declares  that  slavery 
shall  cease  in  18*70,  and  also  declares  that  invol¬ 
untary  servitude  shall  cease  in  1870.  And  thus, 
instead  of  slavery  continuing  only  seven  years, 
as  declared  by  the  ordinance,  it  will  continue 
in  all  cases  thirteen  years  and  in  some  cases 
thirty  or  forty  years.  It  has  the  appearance  of 
being,  what  I  will  not  call  it  is,  a  transparent 
sham. 

But  the  greatest  objection  I  have  to  the  ordi-' 
nance  is  that,  in  my  opinion,  no  slave  will  ever 
be  freed  under  its  provisions. 

The  ordinance  adopted  by  the  Convention  re¬ 
quiring  voters  to  take  an  oath  that  they  had  not 
been  engaged  in  the  rebellion,  is  subject  to 
repeal  by  the  Legislature.  Already  the  repeal 
is  openly  advocated.  These  men  are  not  to  be 
disfranchised,  say  some  of  our  most  influential 
politicians.  All  the  pro-slavery  men  will  work 
day  and  night  for  its  repeal — every  rebel 
who  returns  and  votes  is  a  reinforcement  to 
them,  for  they  are  all  pro-slavery  and,  of  course, 
opposed  to  emancipation.  They  will  be  joined 
by  many  good,  easy  men  who  do  not  foresee  the 
consequences.  Very  soon  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  war,  if  not  before,  it  will,  in  my  opinion, 
be  repealed.  The  politicians  are  now  bidding 
for  their  votes.  The  vote  of  last  year  for  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Legislature,  compared  with  that  of 
1860  for  President,  shows  a  falling  off  of  some 
70,000  voters.  The  Union  men  and  emancipa¬ 
tionists  voted  nearly  their  whole  strength  in  the 
army  and  out  of  it,  and,  uninfluenced  by  the 
oath 'required  of  voters.  The  pro-slavery  men 
did  not  vote  half  their  strength.  Price’s  army, 
Parson’s  army,  Pains’s  army,  Marmaduke’s 
army,  Jeff.  Thompson’s  army,  the  bushwhackers, 
those  who  had  run  away,  and  those  ,  who  could 
not  or  would  not  take  the  oath,  were  all  absent 
from  the  polls.  The  70,000  absent  voters  were 
mainly  these  men — nearly  every  one  pro-slavery 
and  opposed  to  emancipation.  Perhaps  twenty 
thousand  of  them,  properly  distributed  through¬ 
out  the  State,  would  have  enabled  the  pro¬ 
slavery  men  to  have  carried  the  elections  of  a 
majority  of  the  Legislature.  We  may  expect 
forty  or  fifty  thousand  of  these  pro-slavery  re¬ 
bels  to  return,  and,  uniting  with  the  present 
pro-slavery  party,  cary  the  elections.  We  can¬ 
not  expect  the  war  to  continue  more  than  one  or 
two  years  longer.  After  the  war  is  over  and  the 
rebels  have  returned,  there  will  still  be  at  least 
five  years  within  which  to  effect  its  repeal,  before 
a  single  slave  will  have  been  emancipated  under 
the  ordinance,  and  this,  in  my  judgment,  is  the 
programme  and  plan  of  the  pro-slavery  men. 
The  repeal  of  the  ordinance,  will  be  the  repeal  of 
another  “ Missouri  Compromise,'1'1  and  by  pretty 
much  the  same  men  and  with  like  faith. 
The  ordinance  is  merely  intended  to  prevent 
the  Emancipationists  from  acting,  and  to  divide 
and  distract  them,  and  thus  to  gain  time,  until 
they  are  reinforced  by  their  “  brethren  ”  now  in 


rebellion  or  bushwhacking,  or  refusing  to  take 
the  oath  now  required  of  voters.  I  repeat,  there¬ 
fore,  the  opinion,  that  not  one  slave  will  ever  be 
liberated  under  that  ordinance. 

The  6th  section  of  the  ordinance  I  think  ob¬ 
jectionable.  It  provides  that  “ after  the  passage 
of  this  Ordinance  {July  1,1863)  no  slave  in  this 
State  shall  be  subject  to  State,  county  or  municipal 
taxes .”  The  slaveowners  are  exempt  from  taxa¬ 
tion  on  their  slaves  from  the  date  of  the  ordi¬ 
nance.  If  the  ordinance  should  remain  in  force 
three,  four  or  five  years,  and  be  then  repealed, 
they  will  have  been  exempted  from  taxation  on 
their  slaves  for  that  length  of  time,  and  yet  not 
one  slave  would  have  been  liberated  under  it. 
And  this,  I  think,  will  be  the  result.  Moreover, 
it  remits  the  taxes  on  all  slaves,  when,  by  its 
own  terms,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  slaves 
are  never  to  be  freed.  Again,  suppose  a  person 
in  Missouri  be  the  owner  of  fifty  slaves,  and, 
five  years  after  the  date  of  the  ordinance,  sends 
them  to  another  State  or  removes  there  with 
them,  those  slaves  will  have  been  exempted 
from  taxation  for  five  years,  and  yet  continue 
to  be  slaves  for  life  and  their  price  or  value  be 
unaffected  by  the  ordinance.  It  is  also  objec¬ 
tionable,  inasmuch  as  a  large  majority  of  the 
slaveowners  are  notorious!}7  disloyal,  yet  their 
slave  property  is  to  be  exempted  from  taxation, 
whilst  the  increased  burden  of  taxes  is  to  be 
piled  on  the  loyal  citizens.  Kor  do  I  approve 
of  apian,  by  which  slaves  are  to  be  congregated 
in  other  States,  thereby  reinforcing  and  strength¬ 
ening  the  institution  of  slavery  in  those  States. 

2nd  The  second  great  object  to  be  accom¬ 
plished  by  the  call  of  a  conventton  is  a  provi¬ 
sion  for  an  election  by  the  people  of  a  Governor 
and  other  State  officers.  If  these  officers  were 
the  wisest  and  best  men  in  existenee,  I  would 
yet  insist  that  the  people,  under  our  Republican 
government,  have  the  right,  and  ought  to  de¬ 
mand  and  insist  upon  the  right — by  election, 
to  retain  them  in  office  or  to  put  others  in  their 
1  places ;  and  nothing  but  an  overruling  neces¬ 
sity  should  have  deprived  them  of  that  right. 
In  my  judgment,  there  was  at  the  last  session 
of  the  Convention,  and  there  is  now,  no  such 
overruling  necessity.  Kor  do  I  doubt  that  the 
majority  of  the  Convention  would  have  promptly 
ordered  an  election  if  they  had  been  well  satis¬ 
fied  their  favorites  could  have  been  elected.  The 
motive  was  the  same  as  that  which  prompted 
the  refusal  to  submit  the  ordinance  called  an 
emancipation  ordinance,  to  the  vote  of  the 
people — to  avoid  a  defeat.  If  we  could  elect 
members  of  the  Legislature,  members  of  Con¬ 
gress,  members  of  the  Convention  and  Judges 
of  the  Courts,  why  could  we  not  elect  aGovernor 
and  other  State  officers  ?  Why  did  the  Conven¬ 
tion  provide  for  an  election  of  Judges  next  fall, 
if  an  election  was  likely  to  be  either  dangerous 
or  impracticable  ?  Why  did  they  prohibit  the 
Legislature  from  ordering  an  election,  at  a  time 
when  the  State  might  be  perfectly  tranquil — for 
such  is  the  effect  of  their  ordinance  continuing 
those  persons  in  office.  It  was  a  gross  and  un¬ 
mitigated  assumption  of  power,  and  a  most 
tyrannical  exercise  of  it. 

'  3d.  The  third  object  in  calling  a  Convention 
is  to  procure  a  constitutional  provision,  by  which 
those  engaged  in  the  rebellion  shall  be  prevent¬ 
ed  from  voting  at  our  elections.  The  ordinance 
passed  by  the  Convention,  on  that  subject,  may, 
by  its  own  terms,  be  repealed,  at  any  time,  by 
the  Legislature.  As  far  as  1  have  any  informa¬ 
tion  on  the  subject,  every  pro-slavery  and 
every  disloyal  man  in  the  State  is  already  an 


5 


advocate  for  its  repeal.  A  return  of  the  rebels 
and  bushwhackers,  with  the  privilege  of  voting, 
would  be  a  reinforcement  to  their  ranks.  Al¬ 
ready  the  politicians  are  bidding  for  their  votes. 
These  men  who  have  repudiated  the  ballot  box, 
and  have  attempted  and  are  yet  attempting  to 
overturn  the  State  and  Federal  Governments  by 
force  of  arms,  are  to  be  allowed  to  return,  their 
hands  reeking  with  the  blood  of  our  most  patri¬ 
otic  and  loyal  citizens,  and,  by  combination 
with  other  disloyal  men  among  us,  assume  the 
control  of  that  same  State  government  they  are 
even  now  attempting  to  destroy.  It  will  be  in 
vain  that  loyal  men  have  been,  for  more  than 
two  years,  pouring  out  their  blood  like  water, 
to  prevent  the  control  by  rebels  of  our  State, 
when  they  will  be  allowed  to  return  and  as- 


polls.  I  have 
by  rebels  and 
lowed  to  vote, 


sume  that  control  at  the 
already  shown  that  such  contro 
rebel  sympathizers  united,  if  a 
is  not  only  practicable  but  highly  probable, 
indeed,  almost  a  certainty.  Beyond  all  doubt, 
in  many  counties  of  the  State,  they  would  im¬ 
mediately  usurp  every  office  and  place  in  the 
county,  reorganize  the  old  pro-Mavery  power 
and  machinery,  and  put  their  feet  on  the  necks 
of  every  uncompromising  Union  man,  or,  per¬ 
haps,  compel  them  to  flee  the  county.  This 
shall  never  be  accomplished  with  my  consent, 
and  the  attempt,  in  my  judgment,  will  produce 
a  civil  war. 

Nor  is  there  any  hardship  in  disfranchising 
those  who  have  proved,  by  their  acts,  that  they 
are  unfit  to  be  trusted  with  the  rights  of  citi¬ 
zenship?  They  have,  by  their  crimes  forfeited 
their  lives  and  properties,  and  it  is  a  mild 
punishment,  if  ‘punishment  it  can  be  called, 
to  merely  deprive  them  of  the  power  to  do  that 
indirectly ,  which  they  have  for  years  been  striv¬ 
ing  to  do  directly,  by  force  of  arms. 

All  that  is  now  demanded  is  that  the  people 
shall  have  an  opportunity  to  be  heard.  They 
can  be  heard  in  another  convention.  This  they 
have  a  right  to  demand ;  and  I  think  it  can 
hardly  be  possible  the  Legislature  will,  by  re¬ 
fusing  to  call  such  convention,  make  itself  a 
party  to  the  outrages  on  the  rights  of  the  peo¬ 
ple,  perpetrated  by  the  late  convention.  Even  if 
we  fail  there,  we  have  other  remedies  of  a 
peaceable  character,  not  necessary  now  to  be 
discussed. 

Let  us,  then,  my_  friends,  never  despair  of  the 
Republic.  It  is  in  danger,  but  not  lost.  We 
are  fighting  the  battles  of  freedom  and  of  hu¬ 
man  progress;  we  may  be  repulsed,  but  we 
cannot  be  conquered.  A  fair  field  and  clear 
sky  and  the  slave  power,  under  our  sturdy 
blows,  will  lie  prostrate  in  the  dust. 

The  committee  then  further  reported  the  fol¬ 
lowing  officers: 


VICE  PRESIDENTS. 

First  District — Hon.  H.  A.  Clover,  of  St.  Louis 
county ;  Julius  Winkelmeyer,  of  St.  Louis 

county. 

Second  District — Emil  Pretorius,  of  St.  Louis 
county ;  Judge  James  Owens,  of  Franklin 

county. 

Third  District— Colonel  James  Lindsay,  of 
Iron  county;  Colonel  Albert  Jackson,  of  Cape 

Girardeau  county. 

Fourth  District— D.  H.  Boyd,  of  Green  county. 
Fifth  District — Hon.  J.  W.  McClurg,  ofCamden 
county;  Hon.  George  R.  Smith,  of  Pettis  county. 

Sixth  District — S.  F.  Curry,  of  Lafayette 
county  ;  Rev.  James  Lee,  of  Jackson  county. 
Seventh  District — Morgan  Dry  den,  of  Buch¬ 


anan  county ;  P.  A.  Thompson,  of  Buchanan 
county. 

Eighth  District — D.  Wagner,  of  Lewis  county  ; 
E.  V.  Wilson,  of  Knox  county. 

Ninth  District — Colonel  A.  Krekel,  of  St, 
Charles  county;  Walter  Lovelace,  of  Montgom¬ 
ery  county. 


SECRETARIES. 

Colonel  W.  C.  Gantt,  of  St.  Louis  county, 

F.  A.  Nitchy,  of  Cole  county. 

Captain  C.  H.  Howe,  of  Lewis  county 

Captain  Lindsey,  Iron  county. 

Colonel  Charles  E.  Moss,  of  Greene  county. 

Judge  Clover,  of  St.  Louis,  moved  that 
a  committee  on  “platform  and  resolutions,” 
composed  of  one  from  each  Congressional  Dis 
trict,  be  appointed  to  draft  and  present  resolu 
tions  to  be  submitted  for  the  consideration  of 
this  meeting,  and  that  all  resolutions  from 
members  of  the  Convention  be  referred  to  said 
committee. 

The  President — I  trust  the  delegations  will 
relieve  me  from  the  duty  of  appointing  the  com 
mittee  by  naming  one  from  among  themselves 

Mr.  Drake — Judge  Clover,  the  mover  of 
the  resolution,  represents  St.  Louis  county,  and 
1  think  it  would  be  advisable  to  have  him  on 
the  committee. 

Judge  Clover— I  must  decline  the  honor.  1 
have  been  named  as  a  Vice  President  of  this 
Convention,  and  I  do  not  think  it  would  bo 
proper  to  accept  of  the  position.  I  shall,  there 
fore,  decline  for  this  reason,  and  this  only. 

On  motion  of  B.  Gratz  Brown,  the  ap 
pointment  of  the  committee  was  left  with  the 
President,  and  the  respective  delegations— the 
President  to  announce  the  names  of  the  commit 
tee  hereafter. 

Mr.  Brown  also  said  that  he  thought  the  Con 
vention  could  not  transact  any  business  here; 
he  thought  the  distance  from  the  city  was  such 
that  we  would  experience  much  inconvenience. 
Other  delegates  would  be  present  this  afternoon, 
and  he  was  of  opinion  that  we  could  transact  all 
our  business  in  the  State  House.  Whatever 
business  we  had  in  the  way  of  speeches  could 
be  transacted  outside  from  a  stand,  erected  for' 
that  purpose.  He  therefore  moved  that  this 
Convention  do  now  adjourn,  to  meet  at 
three  o’clock,  p.  m.,  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives;  which  motion  was  unanimously 
adopted,  and  the  Convention  adjourned  at 
eleven  o’clock,  a.  m. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

Convention  assembled  pursuant  to  adjourn¬ 
ment,  when  the  President  announced  the  fol 
lowing  as  the 

COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS. 

First  District — C.  P.  Johnson. 

Second  District — Emil  Pretorius. 

Third  District — Colonel  Albert  Jackson. 

Fourth  District — S.  II.  Boyd. 

Fifth  District— B.  Bruns. 

Sixth  District — C.  A.  Winslow. 

Seventh  District — Colonel  Wm.  R.  Penick. 

Eighth  District — A.  L.  Gilstrap. 

Ninth  District — W.  W.  Edwards. 

On  motion  the  committee  was  accepted. 

Colonel  Jameson  suggested  the  propriety  of 
appointing  a  committee  on  credentials.  Such  a 
committee  was  necessary  to  carry  out  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  Mr.  Drake,  for  the  preparation 
of  a  list  of  the  delegates  with  their  post  office 


r 


6 


address;  it  was  necessary  -that  this  list  should 
be  obtained. 

The  President  stated  that  the  names  had  been- 
recorded  to  some  extent. 

Mr.  Drake  said  that  this  was  a  mass  con¬ 
vention  of  the  people  and  credentials  were  not 
necessary  to  entitle  gentlemen  to  seats  in  this 
body.  He  would  renew  the  suggestion  offered 
by  him  last  evening,  that  the  delegates  to  this 
convention  furnish  the  Secretary  a  list  of  each  one 
with  his  post  office  address.  It  was  important 
that  we  should  have  this  list  to  enable  the  Sec- 
retary  to  issue  tickets  to  them  to  return  home 
without  charge.  He  had  no  doubt  it  would  be 
attended  to  by  the  delegates  in  person. 

It  was  here  suggested  that  the  counties  be 
called  in  order  and  the  foreman  of  each  county 
delegation  hand  in  the  list.  The  suggestion 
was  acted  upon  and  nearly  every  loyal  county 
was  represented. 


ADAIR  COUNTY. 

NAMES  OF  DELEGATES.  P.  O.  ADDRESS. 


Wm.  B.  Reynolds 

Jas.  Reynolds . 

O.  H.  Beeman . 

Guv  Chandler . 

A.  McFerran . 

David  Wells . 


.Willmithville 

. do . 

. Kirksville 

. do . 

. do . 

. Greeutop 


CLINTON  COUNTY. 

J.W.  Bassett . Cameron 

Jacob  Estopp . do . 

ATCHISON  COUNTY. 

Philip  A.  Thompson . Rockport 

E.  P.  Bigger .  do 

MILLER  COUNTY. 


t  Charles  Johnson.... 

Charles  Moore . 

James  Moore . 

A.  P.  Nixdorff . 

John  S.  Franklin... 

Ludwel  Boeon . 

M.  H.  Belshe . . 

Williams  Mathews 

John  O.  Shelton . 

T.  i .  Babcolte . 

Gabriel  Cotten . 

Wm.  C.  Brown . 

Evan  Short . 

James  Long . 

Charles  Tallman.... 

H.  A.  Wilson . 

Phil.  Roberson . 

Thomas  Shinfrey... 

Jacob  Capps . 

Sales  Brown . 

A.  P.  Nixdorf . 

J.  H.  Melton . 

Rufus  Roberts . . 

James  Wright . 


. Mount  Drop 

. do . 

. do . 

. do  . 

Pleasant  Mount 

. do . 

. Hickory  Hi  1 

. Tuscumbia 

. do . 

. Rocky  Mount 

. do . 

. . Tuscumbia 

. Oaklurst 

. do.... 

. do.... 

. Brumley 

. Tuscumbia 

. . Brumley 

. Tuscumbia 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 


CHARITON  COUNTY. 

John  W.  Sisson . Bynumville 

Wm.  Whitaker  . . . - . do . 

C.  M.  W.  Phillips, . Keytsville 

John  S.  Dewey . do . 

G.  M.  Dewey . do . 

C.  A.  Winslow . do . 

John  Hutchinson . Salisbury 

E.  A.  Holcomb . Keytesville 

Lewis  Grotjan.... . Brunswick 

J.  B.  Norman . do . 

John  Strub . do . 

Lewis  Augsberger . do . 

Wm.  Dalton . do . 

J.  H.  Nickols . Glasgow,  Howard  county 

J.  A.  Vance . do . do . do . 

Samuel  Smith . do . do . do . 

George  Young . do . do . do . 


LINN  COUNTY. 

I.  V.  Pratt . Laclede 

D.  R.  Remington . do . 

L.  H.  Weatherby . do . 

W.  R.  Love . do . 

J.  F.  Pershing . do . 

David  Jenkins . Northcott 

B.  F.  Northcott . do . 

T.  E.  Brauner . ...Linneus 

IRON  COUNTY.- 

James  Lindsay...*.. . Ironton 

Wm.  P.  Adair . . . . . . . . do . 

Robt.  L.  Lindsay . do . 

C.  R.  Peck . ......do . 


W.  A.  Delano . Tipton 

P.  Crozat . do . 

George  J,  Tetley . do . 

Charles  Rosseline.. . do . 

T.  P.  Russell . do . 

Morgan  Mace . do . 


SCOTLAND  COUNTY. 


Jacob  Maggard . Memphis 

D.  B.  Cooper . do . 

James  S.  Rett . do . 

Jared  Cone . do . 


WARREN  COUNTY. 

Frederick  Munch . Femme  Osage 

Adolph  Munch . do . 

Paul  Schmidt . Holstein 

Eberhard  Mindrup . do . 

Haver  Jordan . Big  Spring 

Wm.  Brockman . Warrenton 

Wm.  Schaden . do . 

Jacob  Leek . do . 

George  Damm . Pin  Oak 

Henry  Ritter . do . 

Wm  Buerger . Wright’s  City 

Wm.  Camp . do . 

D.  Bockhorst . Branett’s  Rock  Sr 

John  Brandt . do. 

Captain  J  L.  Fant . Warrenton 

Judge  Simms . do . 

James  Eckelkamp. . Holstein 

MONTGOMERY  COUNTY. 


W.  L.  Luerdave . 

Dr.  Wm.  B.  Adams, 

Wm.  C.  Ford . 

James  Davidson . 

John  Haysett . 

John  Davidson . 


...Danville 

. do . 

. do . 

Stockland 

. . do . 

. do . 


CAMDEN  COUNTY. 

Hon.  J.  W.  McClurg . 

Wm.  B.  Murphy . . . 

Reubtn  Green . . 

Edward  Collison . 

Henry  G.  Bollinger . 

Hon.  W.  N.  Harrison . . . 

Anson  Eccleston . 

Simon  Hammer . 

T.  R.  Lane . . . 

Dr.  J.  W.  Calfee . 

Dr.  S.  McMinn . . . 

Samuel  Crawl . 


. Linn  Creek 

.  do . 

Little  Nianqua 

. Linn  Creek 

. do . 

Little  Nianqua 

. . do . 

. Wet  Glaze 

,.  . do . 

. Linn  Creek 

. do . 

. . . do . . 


JACKSON  COUNTY. 


Rev.  Jos.  Lee . Kansas  City 

Judge  C.  Carpenter . do . 


BENTON  COUNTY. 

William  Meyers . 

Albert  Nichols . 

Casper  Fardney . 

Henry  Benny . 


.Benton 

...do.... 

....do.... 

....do.... 


CHRISTIAN  COUNTY. 

Lewis  Wills . 

Madison  Day . 

Leonard  Walker . 

W.  H.  Paine . 

W.  P.  Cox . 

COOPER  COUNTY. 

Beni.  Weeden . 

G.  W.  Hutchinson . 

J.  Roatleap . 

G.  W.  Duncan  . . . . 

W.  R.  Butler . 

T.  L.  George . 

H.  Shoemaker . . 

Reuben  Cordry . 

Stanford  Inge  ..‘ . 

H.  L.  M.  Miller . 

M.  J.  Mahan . . . 

J.  Asletyne . 

A.  W-ettendorf. . 

T.  Jones . 

H.  Crouther . 

S.  Merstetter . 

J.  Holtzman . 

D.  Thomas . 

MONITEAU  COUNTY. 

Captain  Hopkins . 

Captain  E.  W.  Washburn . 

Major  J.  F.  Hume . 

Lieutenant  Laramore . 

Lieutenant  Dayley . . 

Lieutenant  Spear . 

Captain  Mozier . 

Captain  Twiehaus . . . . 

Nelson  Brown . . . 

J.  S.  Ferguson . . . 

Dr.  O.  Abbey . 

Martin  Buglin . 

John  Crawford . . . 


. Ozark 

. . do... 

.  do... 

Wilson  Creek 
. Springfield 

. Lebanon 

. Otterville 

. Syracuse 

. Boonville 

. Otterville 

. Boonville 

. do . 

. Lebanon 

. Otterville 

. Boonville 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

.  .do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. . do . 

. . .Tipton 

. California 

. do . 

. do . 

..Clarksburgh 

. California 

. do . 

. . do . 

. Tipton 

. do.... 

. California 

. do . 

. . Tipton 


7 


Herman  Neff . . 

Lieutenant  Newkirk... . . 

Captain  M.  S.  Courtright 

L.  Pres  er . 

Dr.  G.  W.  Mason . 

Colonel  S.  Sappington . 

E.  Albert . 

E.  R.  Holloway . 

L.  Schricker . - 

James  Hume . 

F.  Beeton . - 

G.  W.  Cryder . . 

L.  C.  Hopkins . 

R.  V.  Kennety,  Esq . 

James  Enos . 

Henry  Becker . 

H.  C.  Finke . 

G.  A.  Burkhart . . . 

J.  F.  Dewvenick . 

Frank  Ghentz . 

Captain  Joseph  Diehl . . 

John  Gigas . 

G.  L.  Hoekn . 

S.  D.  Reaves . 

Peter  Smith . 

F.  Pomier . 

Moses  W.  Hall . 

Solomon  Kemp . 

William  Houchin . 

Lewis  Haga . 


. Tipton 

Clarksburgh 

. Tipton 

. do.... 

.Clarksburgh 
. Tipton 

. do.... 

. California 

. Tipton 

.Clarksburgh 

. Tipton 

....California 

. .Tipton 

. do,... 

. California 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. Tipton 

. do.... 

. . do.... 

. do.... 

. do.... 

. California 

. Tipton 

. California 

. do . 

. . Tipton 


JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 


John  H.  Morse . 

Isaac  Sullens . 

Captain  C.  C.  Fletcher. 
Captain  Anton  Yerger. 
Captain  John  T.  Davis.. 

Samuel  A.  Reppv . 

Captain  W.  T.  Buxton 
James  C.  Powers . 


. Morse’s  Mill 

. . Fenton 

. De  Soto 

.Sulphur  Springs 
Bailey’s  Station 

. Hillsboro 

...Bellow’s  Creek 
. Hillsboro 


CRAWFORD  COUNTY. 

B.  Smith . Cuba 

F.  S.  Cornwall . Cuba 

E.  G.  Evans . Cuba 

BOONE  COUNTY. 

J.  J.  Blair . Claysville 

G.  Z.  Whiting . do . 

D.  M.  Cattell . do . 

J.  T.  Redmond . Columbia 

GASCONADE  COUNTY. 

W.  Berger . Bay 

W.  O.  Dallmeyer . Woollam 

Ferdinand  Hiurichs . do . 

George  Husmaun.. . Hermann 

John  R.  Michi . do . 

Simon  Maushand .  do . 

Michael  Poeschel . do . 

Henry  Reitomeyer . do . 

Gottleib  Bippstein . . . do _ 

Constance  Reik . .do . 

Joshua  W.  Rooks . Owensville 

Rudolph  Schlinde . Hermann 

John  Shllins . Bay 

Captain  Meyer . Bay 

Hiram  Robinson . Bay 

Franklin  Dodds . Richland 


MARION  COUNT*  . 

J.  T.  K.  Hayward . 

W.  Smith  Ingham . 

M.  P.  Green . . . . . . 

John  Fry . 

J.  C.  Waugh . 

Rev.  Nathan  Shumate . 

John  Volk . 

Capt.  W.  Lair . . 

Wm.  H.  Boulware . 

P.  B.  Groat . 

G.  Langdon . 

Beniamin  Stevens . 

F.  Waller,  Sr . 

W.  H.  Loomis . 

Rev.  D.  W.  Davidson... . 

M.  L.  Pierson . 

Joseph  R.  Winchell . 

J.  M.  Morris . 

Charles  F.  Armstrong . 

Ed.  Price . 

PiKE  COUNTY. 

R.  S.  Orr . 

COLE  COUNTY. 

Hon.  R.  W.  Wells . 

F.  A.  Nltchy . . . 

Dr.  A.  Peabody . 

Dr.  Wm.  A.  Curry . 

Ed.  L.  King . 

Dr.  B.  Bruns . . . 

A.  Gensel . 

Phll.Ott  . ; . 

William  Kroft . 

A.  Elliott . 


.Hannibal 

. Jo . 

. . do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. . do . 

.. . do . 

.Palmyra 

. do . 

Hannibal 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do ..... 

. do . 

. do . 


Buffalo 


.Jefferson  City 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 


Wm.  Reaves., . Jefferson  City 

Joshua  Landrum . do . 

Captain  J.  Steiniger . do . 

George  Bassman .  do . 

Talbird  Bass . do . 

Wash  Sullins . do . 

Francis  Cox . do........ 

J.  F.  McKernan . . do. . . 

George  Wagner . do . 

Christ.  Wagner . do . 

H.  A.  Swift . - . .  do . 

L.  Conrath . do . 

E.  W.  Urban . do . 

C.  M.  Ward . do . 

H.  L.  Bruns . do . 

C.  P.  Hyatt . do . 

Chas.  Thompson . do . 

George  Arnhold . do . 

E.  Linsenbarlli . de . 

Wm.  Porter . do . 

Dr.  N.  De  Wyll . do . 

A.  Eugelbreclit . do . 

John  Beck . - . do . 

Lewis  Grisle . do . 

Albert  Walters . do . 

B.  Weueman . do . 

B.  H.  Brand . do . 

MACON  COUNTY. 

Oliver  A.  L.  Gilstrap . Macon 

Dr.  T.  A.  Eagle . Ten  Mile 

Colone  John  Farren . do . 

Lieutenant  P.  R.  Graves . do. . 

Captain  N.  B.  Warner . do . 

Lieutenant  Thomas  Smith . Macon 

Major  George  W .  Eastman . Ten  Mile 

MORGAN  COUNTY. 

B.  F.  Wilson . Versailles 

E.  Taylor . do . 

John  Reed . do . 

Henry  Raines . do . 

John  Dalton . do...... 

Henry  Albers . do. . 

Wm.  A.  Parkes . do . 

Jacob  Cline . Florence 

E.  A.  Car . do...m 

John  Popin . do . 

John  Logan . Syracuse 

John  L,  Consalus . - . do . 

SCHU  YLER COUNTY . 

Daniel  H.  Roberts . Greentop 

BUCHANAN  COUNTY. 

Hon.  R.  M.  Stewart . St.  Joseph. 

Major  J.  M.  Bassett . do . 

E.  Snyder . do . 

Colonel  Wm.  A.  Albin . do . 

Hon.  Ben  Loan . do . 

M.  L  Harrington . do . 

Hon.  John  Severance . do . 

J.  Penney . do . 

Major  E.  Kirby . do . 

Win.  R.  Peuick . do . 

Lewis  Hax . do . 

Captain  James  Brierly . do . 

Hon.  Smith  O.  Schotield . do . 

Morgan  Dryden . do . 

Judge  R.  Ridge . do  . 

Captain  Wm.  Randall . do . 

Richard  Fisher . do . 

Major  Wm.  Drumhiller . do . 

Major  Jas.  Hunter . do . 


PLELPS  COUNT*. 

Aaron  Van  Wormer . 

J.  W.  Harding . 

S.  W.  Hancock . . 

Captain  J.  J.  Ware . 

Captain  Wm.  Moults . 

Daniel  Chamberlain . 

Captain  R.  M.  Peck . 

W.  J.  C  Taylor . . 

Peter  Swartz . . 

Captain  Callahan . 

Mr.  Dempwolf . 

Neagler . 

Dickerson . 

Mr.  Bezone.. . 

Henry  Beal . 

E.  P.  Ferril . 

Henry  Lich . 

Captain  Allen  Hauser . 

Wiley  Craddock . 


Rolla 
.  do... 
.  do... 
..do... 
.  do... 
..do... 
..do... 

do... 
..do... 
.  do... 
..do... 
..do... 
..do... 
.  do... 
..do... 
..do... 
..do... 
.  do... 
..do... 


POLK  COUNTY. 


L.  V.  llollyfleld . Orleans 

Johu  C.  Crandall . do . 

John  Cantleld . Halfway 

E.  V.  Lafoon . Bolivar 


8 


GREENE  COUNTY. 

S.  H.  Boyd . Springfield 

S  H.  Julian  . do . 

Wm.  Whitlock.- . do . . 

J.  Dyar . do..—... 

J.  E.  Smith . ....do . 

Colonel  Moss  . do . 

HOLT  COUNTY. 

John  Marsh . Oregon 

Daniel  David . do.... 

A  .  G.  Hollister . Fillmore,  Andrew  county 

Wm.  Conchen . Oregon 

JOHNSONC  OUNTY. 

Brinkley  Hornsby,  Foreman . Warrensburg, 

W.  W.  Houts . . . . . do . 

John  I.  Welchins . do . 

.  M.  Christian . do . 

Thomas  Anderson . do . 

William  Caldwell . do . 

George  Reiter . do . 

Shockley  Adams . . . do . 

Abraham  Adams . do . 

William  J.  Mason . do . 

Woodson  Maicost . . do . 

a’l  Rird . . do . 

Allen  Barlow . do . 

John  Zimmerman . do . 

James  M.  Parker . KnobNoster. 

Pevton  Skidmore . do . 

J.  W.  Oglesby . do . 

Sam’l  Workman . do . 

.John  Eaener . do . 

Charles  Van  tel  man . do . 

FredCronehart . do . 

W  m  ."Glenn . . do . 

W m.  Budd . do . 

fi.  M.  Christian.  . . do . 

LEWIS  COUNTY. 

Thompson  F.  Anderson . Gilead 

‘•ieor^eS.  Carnahan . Lagrange 

Charlton  H.  Howe . do . 

George  W.  McLean . do . 

Henry  McChesney . do . 

Milton  Million . do . 

Jame8P.  Mitchell . Primrose 

David  Wagner . . Lagrange 

DALLAS  COUNTY. 

A.  B.  Maddox . . . Buffalo 

Matthew  Pari . do . 

R.  R.  Stanley . do . 

PERRY  COUNTY. 

P.  W.  A.  McPike . Perryville 

LAFAYETTE  COUNTY. 

S.  F.  Currie . Lexington 

C.  Gruber . do . 

H.  Emde . do . 

H.  Sell . do . 

T.  Taubman . do . 

- Williams . do . 

James  Sbenev . do . 

WTORTH  COUNTY. 

Eli  Smith . Smith  ton 

Walter  B.  Hamilton . do.... 

HENRY  COUNTY. 

A.  Dana . Calhoun 

John  Baker..... . do.... 

W.  M.  McCown . do.... 

J.  W.  Hanger . . . do.... 

C.  H.  Zimmerman . do.... 

Wm.  Miller . . . do.... 

L.  C.  Marvin . Clinton 

KNOX  COUNTY. 

Colonel  Samuel  M.  Wirt . Edina 

Malor  Elias  V.  Wilson . do... 

Captain  Tobias  J.  Lycan.. . do... 

Thomas  O.  Warmsly . do  .. 

Cyrus  Coleman . Colony 

Captain  David  W.  Brewington . do.... 

John  Fresh,  Esq . Newark 

FRANKLIN  COUNTY. 

G.  D.  Bush . Washington 

John  Dugge . do . 

A.  Krueger . do . 

Otto  Bids . do . 

Gert  Goebel . . . Campbellton 

E.  W.  Murpby . Washington 

J.  Magan . do . 

II.  Flottman . Cedar  Fork 

G.  Arnold . Washington 

J.  W.  Owens . do . 

Jacob  Cole . .. . do . 

Jasper  Cole . do . 

V.  P.  Jones . do . 

Theodore  Mader . New  Haven 

W.  Bolte . Campbellton 

J.  Duncan . Cattawissa 

J.  W.  Pritchett . do . 

A.  Downey . Washington 


J.  Moore . 

John  Meyer . 

A.  Winker . 

J.  T.  Murphy . 

Lewis  Terry . 

W.  Terry . . 

H.  Kampschmidt . . 

W.  Stoony . . . . 

Silas  Hall . . 

A.  Frick . 

J.  T.  Vitt . 

A.  Jeffries  . 

Thomas  Circendall  . 

A.  D.  Clark . 

Jacob  Muart . . 

David  Murphy . 

Fritz  A  ngerer . . 

C.  A .  Kinkaid . 

W.  Poll  eh . 

Fr.  Stohlman . 

James  Vaugh . 

M  L.  G.  Crow . 

C.  C.  Bohle . 

Andrew  Fink . / . 

J.  A.  Moore . . . 

Phillip  Shenk . 

J.  A.  Jones . 

L.  Wehrman . . 

J.  Allen . 

Hermendach . 

George  Holden . 

MONROE  COUNTY. 
John  F.  Holdworth . 


. St.  Clair 

. Lostwell 

.Jeft'riesburg 

. St.  Clair 

Jeffriesburg 

. do . 

. Buford 

. St.  Clair 

. Berger 

Campbellton 

. Union 

. Union 

. St.  Clair 

. St.  Clair 

....? . Union 

. do... 

..Jeffriesburg 

. Melrose 

. do... 


. Union 

. . do... 

..New  Haven 
Jeffriesburg 

. St.  Clair 

. Pacific 

. Buford 

.Washington 

. do... 

. Berger 

.Washington 


Paris 


ST.  CHARLES  COUNTY. 

George  Muench . . — . 

Dr.  Louis  Gerling . 

Conrad  Mallinekrodt . 

Henry  Mindrup . 

Charles  Tiemon . 

Fritz  Brinkmeir . . 

Friedrich  VVeuker . 

Henry  Sehaof. . 

Ohristel  Sehaof . 

Charles  Meyer . 

Arnold  Krekel . 

Wr.  W. Edwards . 

John  C.  Orrice . 

Julius  Jeinoner . 

Theodore  Bruire . 

Gustave  Bruire . 

Valentine  Becker . . 

E.  F.  Gut . 

John  Hausam . 

Colonel  Weinrick . 

C.  Heuser  . 

Josiah  Pratt . 

Fred.  Keiser . . 

Ferd.  Hels . 

George  H.  Fenden . 

Ferd,  Pfoutner . 

Mathias  Doebling . 

Charles  Beeper . . 

Herman  Metz. . 

A.  Hooke . 

Ferd.  Hess . . . 


.Augusta 

. do . 

. do . 


. eo . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

Femme  Osage 

. St.  Charles 

. do . 

. do . 

. Augusta 

. St.  Charles 

. do . 

. do . 

. . do.  ... 

. do . 

. New  Melle 

. St.  Charles 

. do . 

. do . 

. St.  Charles 

. do . 

. do . 

. New  Melle 

. St.  Charles 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 


WASHINGTON  COUNTY. 


C.  F.  Hellerrwan . Potosi 

Capt.  Robinson . do... 


OSAGE  COUNTY. 

Geo.  W.  Hopkins . 

Joshua  J.  White . 

Captain  David  Hopkins . 

H.  R.  Croneli . 

Captain  James  G.  McKnight . 

Wert  W.  Price . 

David  J.  Ferguson . .  . 

Presley  Martin . 

Claiborne  Matthews . . 

S.  B.  Rail . . 

Benj.  McGill . 

Dr. ‘Ed.  Rheiuer . 

Joseph  Naelie . . . 

Josiah  McKnight . . 

J.  S.  Sutton . . . 

Benj.  F.  Laughlin . 

PETTIS  COUNTY. 

Geheral  G.  R.  Smith . 

Judge  Jacob  Yankee . 

Dr.  J.  G.  Beck . 

Dr.  L  M.  Townsley . . 

Wm.  Spurgeon . 

Wm.  Obannon . 

T.  J.  Johnson . 

Wm.  Jackson . 

Kit  Divers . . 

Captain  Wm.  E.  Ramsy . 

Captain  Clian.  P.  Townsley . 

L.  D.  Scott . . . 


. Linn 

. do... 

. do... 

. Medora 

. do.... 

. Chamois 

. Medora 

.,  ..Cooper  HilJ 

. Byron 

. Castle  Rock 

. do . 

....  Westphalia 

. do . 

. . . Linn 

Bonnott’s  Mill 
. Linn 


. Sedalia 

. do . 

. Dresden 

Georgetown 

. do . 

. do . 

. Dresden 

Georgetown 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 


9 


Captain  G.  W.  Smiley . 

Henry  W .  Smiley . <« 

Mathias  Reed . . . 

Lieutenant  James  A.  Ramsey . 

Joseph  Crane . 

James  Harvey . 

John  Spurgeon . 

Watson  Wolf . 

I.  J.  Friend . 

Lieutenant  C.  C.  Crawford . 

Morris  Winston . . 

Thomas  Starnes . 

R.  Waltenspiel . 

Jacob  Naess berger . 

Thomas  Griffin . 

John  D.  Myers . 


ANDREW  COUNTY. 

N.  B.  Giddings . 

Hon  Wm.  Trapp . 

W.  A.  Price . . . 

MADISON  COUNTY. 
John  B.  Tesseau . 


. Sedalia 

. do . 

. do . 

.Georgetown 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. Sedalia 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. do . 

. Dresden 

. do . 


.Savannah 

. do . 

. do . 


Fredericktown 


ST.  LOUIS  COUNTY. 


H.  Liudemau, 
Charles  Braches, 
R.  Rombauer, 

C.  H.  Stiefel, 
William  Stumpf, 


FIRST  WARD. 

M.  Lorenz, 

Louis  Lepp, 

Fred.  Kaiser, 

Henry  P.  Vahlkamp, 
Gustav  Haenscben. 


SECOND  WARD. 

Colonel  R.  J.  Rombauer,  C.  R.  Fritsch, 
Isidor  Bush, 

F.  W.  Cronenbold, 

C.  D.  Wolff, 

Henry  C.  Gempps, 


James  Taussig, 

C.  W.  Gottschalk, 

D.  J.  Haussler, 

G.  Gehrke. 


THIRD  WARD. 

Emil  Pretorius,  C.  C.  Simmons, 

M.  Ernst  Suschizky. 

FOURTH  WARD. 

Dr.  Charles  Roescli,  Dr.  Tlieod.  Rlmberger 

Charles  D.  Drake,  A.  D.  Sloan, 

Gottf.  Elimann,  Louis  Lippman, 

Dr.  George  Hillgaertner,  Dr.  Phil.  Weigel, 
And.  Niederwieser,  Dr.  Ch.  L.  Lips. 


1 


LACLEDE  COUNTY. 


John  S.  Shields . Lebanon 

Alfred  Case . Case 

John  Esther . do. 


MACDONALD  COUNTY. 

8.  M.  Hargrove . Pineville 


DEKALB  COUNTY. 

W.  W.  Riggs . . . 

PULASKI  COUNTY. 

A.  Harner . Waynesville 

LIVINGSTON  COUNTY. 

F.  B.  Bratton . . Chillicothe 


CAPE  GIRARDEAU  COUNTY. 

Colonel  Albert  Jackson . .Cape  Girardeau 

James  McWilliams . do . 

Henry  Bruihl . do . 

Otto  iBuehrmann . do . 


ST.  FRANCOIS  COUNTY 

John  A.  Weber . . . . 

Armstrong  O’Hara . 

Rufus  Alexander . 


Farmington 

. do . 

. do . 


CASS  COUNTY. 
Hon.S.  S.  O’Bannon . 


CLARKE  COUNTY. 

James  H.  Crane . Waterloo 

Henry  Seymour . Ashton 

PUTNAM  COUNTY. 

W.  F.  Wells . Unionville 

DADE  COUNTY. 

John  B.  Clarke . 

Dr.  A.  C.  Sloan . 

John  C.  Kirby . 

Adonijah  Morgan . 

Wm.  Denby . 

ST.  CLAIR  COUNTY. 


A.  Alexander . Oceola 

C.  McWilliams . do.... 

Wm.  C.  Reader . do.... 

Elias  Disney . do.... 

HICKORY  COUNTY. 

Thomas  G.  Morgan . Hermitage 

Captain  J.  P.  Rodgers . do 

Captain  W.  L.  Snidau . do 


HOWELL  COUNTY. 

Wm.  A.  Monks . r . . . 

CARROLL  COUNTY. 

S.  H.  Beall . Pleasant  Park 

AUDRAIN  COUNTY. 

Captain  W.  A.  Poillou . Mexico 

CALDWELL  COUNTY. 

Dr.  Daniel  Proctor . Moresville 

Dr.  E.  K.  Sheffield . Hamilton 

L.  S.  McCoy . Kingston 

HARRISON  COUNTY. 

James  Downey . Akron 

Robert  H.  Vandivert . Pleasant  Ridge 

Howard  T.  Combs . Bethany 

GRUNDY  COUNTY. 

N.  T.  Doane . Trenton 

Hon.  E.  L.  Winters . Lindley 

John  M.  Overman . do . 

James  Akens . Trenton 

DAVIES  COUNTY. 

Colonel  W.  S.  Brown . Crittenden 

Colonel  W.  F.  Flint . do . 


PLATTE  COUNTY. 

A.  G.  Brown . 

A.  G.  Beller . . 

Thomas  Quinn . 

A.  Wise . . . 

o 


..Farley 
,W  eston 

...do . 

...do.mtl 


H.  A.  Clover, 
Julius  Winklemyer 
Samuel  Bonner, 

W.  C.  Gant, 

C.  H.  Howland, 


FIFTH  WARD. 

C.  P.  Johnson, 
J.  C.  Moody, 

J.  F.  Wielandy. 
G.  W.  Fishback. 


R.  S.  Hart, 

Geo.  A.  Schaeffer, 
W.  H.  Bond, 
Anson  Comstock, 


SIXTH  WARD. 

Warren  Currier, 
T.  W.  Blockman, 
11.  H.  Sleeth. 


SEVENTH  WARD . 

E.  H.  E.  Jameson.  Wm.  F.  Parson, 

James S.  Thomas,  R.  A.  Watt, 

Fred.  Doering,  G.  Von  Deutch. 

Dr.  J.  Hartman, 

EIGHTH  WARD. 

John  Conzelman,  M.'D. ,  Major  Fredr.  Hase, 
John  C.  Vogel, 

Fredr.  Bergesch, 

H.  H,  Helmkamp, 

Josenh  Feuerbach, 


C.  F-  Splet.e, 

II.  W.  Wellemeier, 
John  Steward. 

J.  H.  Trorlicht. 


NINTH  WARD. 

Col.  Edward  Beckmann,  Charles  Gray, 
Captain  L .  B .  Trafton ,  Mr .  Rosebaugh . 
Captain  H.  Obermueller, 


Elihu  B.  Thomas, 
Philip  Jollier, 
John  H.  Tebbe, 
Henry  Schwaner, 
Robt.  F.  Wingate, 


TENTH  WARD. 

Dr.  Isaac  N.  Piggott, 
Benj.  Charles, 

Chas.  J.  Stifle, 

Chas  W.  Irwin. 


CARONDELET  TOWNSHIP. 

John  F.  Hume . Carondelet 

H.  J.  Fisher . . to . 

H.  C.  Wright . . . do . 


CENTRA!.  TOWNSHIP 

Geo.  N.  Brewster . 

Wm.  M.  Plant . 

John  B.  Lind . 

John  Sutter . 

John  G.  Spoede . 

Thos.  Kirgin . 

Frank  Miner . 

Edwin  Barnard . 

Edward  M.  Avery . 


....Creve  Coeur 

. St.  Louis 

. Central 

. do.... 

. Creve  Coeur 

. Central 

Webster  Grove 
. do . 


JIERAMEC  TOWNSHIP. 

Col.Wm.P.  Fenn . 

Major  Hiram  Inman . 

Dr'.  Gustavus  Strieker . 

Frederick  Essen . 

Henry  E.  Bates . 

Frederick  Sliulze . < 

Hermann  Steins . 

Charles  Wetter . 

Captain  Augustin . . 

BONHOMME  TOWNSHIP. 

Winfleld  S.  Smith,  foreman . .’ . 

John  Alt . 

Alexander  McElhlnney . 

Jacob  Ravens . 

Christian  Morschel . 


.Melrose 

....do . 

....do . 

....do . 

....do . 

....do . 

....do . 

....do . 

....do . 


Manchester 

. do . 

. do . 

. . Belmont 

. Glencoe 


Judge  Hart,  of  St.  Louis,  prefaced  by  a  few 
remarks,  moved  that  a  committee  of  three  be 
appointed  to  report  upon  the  ratio  of  represen¬ 
tation  that  each  county  will  be  allowed  to  en¬ 
joy  when  voting  on  questions  coming  before 
this  Convention.  The  resolution  was  lost. 

Col.  Jameson  then  offered  the  following,  which 
was  adopted : 


10 


Resolved,  That,  the  Committee  on  Platform  and 
Resolution?  recommend  to  this  Convention  the 
names  of  suitable  persons  to  be  supported  by 
the  Union  men  of  Missouri  for  Judges  of  the  Su¬ 
preme  Court. 

John  F.  Ilume,  of  St.  Louis,  offered  the  fol¬ 
lowing,  which  were  greeted  with  loud  and  pro¬ 
longed  cheers ;  and  on  their  refer  ence  to  the 
committee,  an  enthusiastic  delegate  arose  and 
called  for  three  cheers  for  the  author  of  the  res¬ 
olutions,  which  were  given  with  a  will. 

Resolved ,  i  hat  this  Convention,  made  up  of 
representatives  of  the  Unconditional  Union  men 
of  every  part  of  Missouri, relying  upon  the  unani¬ 
mity  of  feeling  which  is  believed  to  exist  be¬ 
tween  them  and  the  Union  men  of  Illinois,  as  a 
guarantee  of  the  latter’s  willingness  to  co-op- 
perate  in  any  movement  in  aid  of  the  common 
cause,  would  respectfully  ask  of  them,  while 
assembled  in  Convention,  at  Springfield,  that 
they  join  with  us  in  appealing  to  the  President 
.  lor  such  a  change  of  administration  in  the  af¬ 
fairs  of  Missouri  as  will  correct  the  evils  of  the 
policy  of  pro-slavery  conservatism  and  conces¬ 
sion  to  rebels  which  has  permitted  the  massacre 
at  Lawrence,  and  under  which  the  truly  loyal 
men  of  Missouri  are  to-day  suffering  the  in- 
flietions  of  a  murderous  civil  strife  from  the 
presence  of  large  numbers  of  enemies  to  the 
Gov. rumen t,  while  every  foot  of  her  soil  is 
under  Federal  rule. 

Resolved,  i  hat  the  Secretary  of  this  Conven¬ 
tion  is  directed  to  telegraph  the  foregoing  to  the 
Uuion  Convention  to  assemble  at  Springfield, 
Illinois,  on  the  3d  day  of  September. 

Judge  Clover,  of  St.  Louis,  ottered  the  follow¬ 
ing: 

Resolved ,  That  we  earnestly  recommend  to  our 
friends  throughout  the  State  to  instruct  in 
writing,  by  a  majority  of  voters,  each  member 
of  the  present  General  Assembly  who  will  not 
pledge  himself  in  writing  to  vote  for  a  call  of  a 
new  Convention,  and  we  further  recommend 
that  committees  be  appointed  and  the  necessary 
funds  raised  for  such  purpose,  and  that  certi¬ 
fied  copies  of  said  instructions,  with  the 
number  of  signatures  obtained  be  carefully 
preserved  for  future  reference  and  use;  and  that 
the  names  of  each  and  every  member,  if  any, 
who  may  betray  his  constituents  by  refusing  to 
obey  said  instructions,  be  published  by  said  j 
committee  in  every  newspaper  in  the  State 
favorable  to  our  cause,  that  they  may  be  noted, 
marked  and  remembered  accordingly. 

The  resolution  was  greeted  by  loud  applause, 
and  was  referred  to  the  committee. 

Lhe  delegation  from  Caldwell,  through  Mr.  j 
McCoy,  presented  the  following,  which  was  also 
referred  :  | 

Whekeas,  The  slaves  heretofore  held  in  Mis 
souri  are  rapidly  escaping  into  surrounding 
States  and  entering  the  army  there,  being  cre¬ 
dited  to  those  States,  and  as  circumstances  ne¬ 
cessitate  trm  draft  for  filling  up  the  decimated 
regiments  or  our  State,  which  has  been  blasted 
by  the  accursed  thing,  slavery ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  demand  of 
General  Schofield,  permission  to  recruit  colored  j 
men  belonging  to  disloyal  men  in  this  State,  lor 
the  United  States  service,  to  be  credited  on  the 
quota  of  Missouri  troops;  that  the  exigencies 
of  the  times  indicate  a  change  of  department 
commanders,  and  for  this  reason  we  appoint  a 
committee  to  draft  a  memorial,  respectfully  re¬ 
questing  the  President  to  assign  Major  General  ! 
Butler,  or  some  other  suitable  man,  to  the  com-  | 


mand  of  this  department,  and  that  this  memo¬ 
rial  be  signed  by  the  members  of  this  conven¬ 
tion,  and  forwarded  to  the  President  at  Washing¬ 
ton.  1  hat  we  regard  the  President’s  proclamation 
ofemancipation  of  January,  1863,  asirrevocable, 
and  we  request  our  Legislature,  our  Senators, 
and  Representatives  in  Congress,  to  use  their 
utmost  endeavor  to  have  our  National  Constitu¬ 
tion  amended  prohibiting  slavery  forever  in 
the  States  now  free,  or  hereafter  applying  for 
admission  into  the  Union. 

1  hat  as  a  matter  of  justice  to  our  Enrolled 
Militia  we  ask  the  authorities  at  Washington  to 
take  up  the  defense  scrip  issue  inpayment  of 
the  State  Enrolled  Militia,  making  payment  in 
Government  paper. 

Mr.  Lindeman,  of  St.  Louis,  presented  the  fol¬ 
lowing: 

Resolved ,  That  we  deem  it  expedient  that  this 
Convention  make  all  necessary  arrangements 
for  the  calling  of  a  Constitutional  Convention, 
which  may  adopt  and  submit  to  the  people  an 
Ordinance  of  Immediate  Emancipation,  and 
such  other  measures  as  will  best  tend  lo  pacify 
the  State;  that  while  we  deem  it  desirable  that 
our  State  Legislature  should,  by  providing  for 
such  a  convention  at  its  next  session,  indorse 
our  action  in  the  premises,  we  also  believe  that 
the  necessities  of  the  times  forbid  our  allowing 
that  the  calling  of  such  a  Convention  should 
remain  entirely  dependent  upon  the  action  of 
the  Legislature.  Referred. 

In  compliance  with  a  resolution  introduced 
by  Colonel  Jameson,  and  adopted  by  the  Con¬ 
vention,  Mr.  Drake  presented  himself  before 
the  Convention  and  delivered  one  of  his 
best  speeches.  It  occupied  over  two  hours  in 
delivery,  during  which  the  greatest  attention 
was  observed,  and  he  took  his  seat  amidst 
storms  of  applause,  the  whole  audience  rising 
and  cheering  vociferously. 

MR.  DRAKE’S  SPEECH. 

Fellow  Cittzens  of  the  Convention: 

I  respond,  without  hesitation,  to  your  invita¬ 
tion  to  address  you;  and  as  the  period  of  our 
session  must  necessarily  be  brief,  1  will  claim 
your  attention  no  longer  than  may  be  necessary 
for  a  sufficient  and  truthful  discussion  of  the 
circumstances  which  have  led  to  our  assembling. 

Every  memoer  of  tnis  body  will  agree  with  me 
that  those  circumstances  are  extraordinary. 
From  nearly  thirty  years’  intimate  acquaintance 
with  Missouri,  I  am  prepared  to  affirm  that  do 
Mass  Convention  of  her  people  ever  assembled 
under  circumstances  so  extraordinary  as  those 
which  surround  us  now.  I  congratulate  you 
that  you  have  the  nerve  and  the  patriotism  to 
come  from  your  distant  homes,  to  show  the 
world  that  you  are  able  and  willing  to  meet  like 
men  the  exigency  which  is  upon  you. 

We  are  loyal  Union  men,  without  any  qualifi¬ 
cation  or  conditions  ;  and  we  are,  and  are  not 
afraid  to  declare  that  we  are,  Radicals.  That 
is,  we  are  for  going  to  the  root  of  the  infamous 
rebellion  which  has  distracted  our  land  for  more 
than  two  years,  and  are  for  destroying  that  as 
well  as  the  rebellion.  That  root  is  the  institution 
of  Slavery.  From  it  the  rebellion  sprang,  by 
it  has  been  sustained,  in  it  lives,  and  with  it 
will  die.  And  until  that  root  is  pulled  up  and 
destroyed,  there  is  no  hope  of  permanent  peace 
in  our  country.  Therefore  I  am  for  pulling  it 
up,  every  fibre  of  it.  And  that  is  what  1  under¬ 
stand  it  is  to  be  a  Radical.  By  that  1  stand  or 
fall.  The  position  is  one  which  necessarily  ad¬ 
mits  of  no  compromise.  It  is  Country  or  Sla- 


11 


very;  and  he  is  a  traitor  who  will  compromise 
between  them. 

This,  in  a  few  words,  is  what  I  hold  to  be  our 
character  and  position  here  to-day.  I  am  not 
afraid  to  so  before  the  world  upon  it.  I  should 
despise  myself,  if  I  took  any  other.  It  follows 
that  I  am  for  using  every  legitimate  means  to 
destroy  the  rebellion,  and  to  crush  down,  wipe 
out,  and  utterly  annihilate  every  development, 
form,  and  hue  of  disloyalty.  I  would  pursue 
disloyalty  through  all  its  infinite  turnings  and 
twistings,  and  hunt  it  down,  ferret  it  out,  and 
drive  it  forth,  till  throughout  our  State  and  our 
land  no  disloyal  hand  should  be  raised,  nor  dis¬ 
loyal  tongue  speak,  against  our  glorious  Union. 

It  follows,  further,  that  I  uphold  the  Procla¬ 
mation  of  Emancipation  issued  by  President 
Lincoln  on  the  1st  of  January,  1863.  I  believe 
that  Proclamation  to  have  been  a  Constitutional 
exercise  of  the  war  power  of  the  Comm  and  er- 
in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United 
States,  against  public  enemies.  Were  they  for¬ 
eign  enemies,  no  American  would  question  his 
right  to  strike  at  their  main  support:  I  affirm 
his  right  to  strike  at  any  and  every  support  ot 
our  domestic  enemies — the  worse,  by  far,  of  the 
two.  And  it  was  a  righteous  exercise  of  his 
power.  Slavery  assailed  the  nation  ol  which 
he  was  the  head,  and  he  was  bound  to  assail 
Slavery  in  turn,  even  to  its  very  death.  And  I 
hold  that  his  Proclamation  did,  in  law,  free 
every  slave  in  all  the  region  it  covered,  on  the 
very  day  it  was  issued.  Not  one  of  them  has 
been  lawfully  held  in  slavery  since  that  day; 
nor  can  one  of  them,  in  my  opinion, 
ever  be  lawfully  enslaved  again.  The  Procla¬ 
mation  is  irrevocable — as  irrevocable  as  death. 
No  attempt  at  its  revocation  can  ever  make 
slaves  again  of  those  it  made  free.  I  accept 
and  uphold  it  as  the  end  of  Slavery  in  the  rebel¬ 
lious  States,  and  I  demand  its  enforcement 
there  by  the  whole  warlike  power  of  the  loyal 
people  of  the  nation,  as  the  only  means  of  re¬ 
storing  abiding  peace  to  our  bleeding  country. 

And  holding  it  right  t9  use  every  lawful 
means  to  overwhelm  rebellion,  1  rejoice  that  the 
President  is  enrolling  among  our  country’s 
armed  hosts  those  whom  his  proclamation  freed. 
I  have  no  squeamishness  about  arming  the  negro. 
I  am  no  half-breed  Unionist,  sensitive  about 
seeing  white  men  fight  alongside  of  the  ‘‘Ameri¬ 
can  citizen  of  African  descent.”  No  traitor  is 
too  good  to  be  killed  by  a  negro,  nor  has  any 
traitor  a  right  to  insist  on  being  killed  by  a 
white  man.  If  for  the  sake  of  Slavery  he  turns 
traitor,  let  former  slaves  be  his  executioners; 
it  is  a  just  and  fit  retribution.  Disaffection,  if 
not  disloyalty,  lurks  in  him  who  opposes  the 
arming  of  the  negro,  let  him  call  himself  what 
he  may.  For  my  part,  1  say  to  the  President, 
Go  on  in  this  good  ivork,  till  the  army  of  blacks  shall 
be  large  enough  to  hold  every  rebel  in  subjection /  and 
then  rebellion  is  at  an  end  for  ever  and  ever  in 
this  land. 

I  have  been  thus  plain  in  the  expression  of 
these  views,  because  1  believe  them  to  be  the 
views  heartily  entertained  by  the  entire  body  of 
the  Radical  Union  men  of  Missouri.  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  oue  such  man  in  our  State  who 
does  not  hold  them,  and  who  is  not  determined 
to  stand  by  them.  They  spring  from  the  deepest 
convictions  of  stern  duty  to  our  country  and  to 
the  cause  of  Liberty.  With  him  who  opposes 
them  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  oppose  him, 
and  by  all  rightful  means  overthrow  and  put 
him  down.  And  that,  my  friends,  is  justthe  work 
which  the  Radicals  of  Missouri  have  before  them. 


To  us  are  opposed  a  portion  of  the  people  of 
Missouri,  who  style  themselves  Conservatives. 
And  who  are  they  ?  Letthe  plain  truth  bespoken. 
They  embrace  all  the  disloyal.  Every  rebel  in  the 
State  is  with  them.  Every  open  or  secret  seces¬ 
sionist  is  with  them.  Every  guerrilla  and 
bushwhacker  is  with  them.  Every  Copper¬ 
head  is  with  them.  Every  man  who  op¬ 
poses  the  radical  policy  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  against  the  rebellion  is  with  them.  Every 
man  who  is  under  bond  for  disloyal  practices 
or  sentiments,  is  with  them.  Every  sympa¬ 
thizer  with  the  rebellion  is  with  them.  Almost 
every  pro-Slavery  man  is  with  them.  And  nine- 
tenths  of  the  slaveholders,  I  believe,  are  with 
them.  And  along  with  this  motley  gang  of  open 
enemies  to,  or  faint-hearted  friends  of,  the 
Union  cause,  are  associated  just  enough  of  real 
Union  men  to  save  the  concern  from  going  down 
instantly  under  the  weight  of  its  inherent  and 
envenomed  disloyalty.  Nothing  keeps  that 
party  alive  this  day  but  the  presence  of  those 
Union  men  in  its  ranks,  and  the  concentration  of 
official  patronage  and  influence ,  Stuie  and,  Rational, 
in  their  hands.  They  are  the  sugar-coat  to  the 
poison-pill  which  is  sought  to  be  admin¬ 
istered  to  the  people  of  Missouri.  They 
alone  give  character  to  Conservatism  in 
Missouri.  They  have  suffered  themselves  to 
be  identified  with  that  class  of  our  population, 
which  would  drag  Missouri  out  of  the  Union  in 
a  moment,  if  they  could  ;  and  they  are  sup¬ 
ported  and  urged  on  by  every  man  in  the  State 
whose  hand  or  heart  has  been  or  is  against  his 
country.  I  profound ly  regret  that  any  of  them 
should  ever  have  been  found  in  such  company  ; 
but  they  are  there,  and  must  share  the  fate  which 
surely  awaits  every  disloyal  man,  whenever 
Missouri’s  loyal  people  can  once  have  access  to 
the  ballot-box. 

Such,  my  fellow-citizens,  is  what  you  and  I 
know  to  be  the  position  of  parties  in  Missouri 
this  day.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  conjecture  or 
supposition;  we  know  it.  We  kuow  that 
throughout  this  whole  State  there  is  not  one  sin¬ 
gle  disloyal  man  in  the  Radical  ranks.  We  know 
that  every  disloyal  man  in  the  State  is  a  Con¬ 
servative.  We  know,  and  desire  the  whole 
world  to  know,  that  the  struggle  now  going  ou 
here,  though  ostensibly  connected  with 
the  subject  of  Em  incipation.  is,  in  re¬ 
ality,  betwten  loyalty  and  disloyalty.  The 
Union  cause  is  at  stake  again,  and  the 
result  will  determine  whether  the  destiny  ot 
this  great  commonwealth  is  to  remain  in  the 
bauds  of  its  loyal  people.  For  one,  l  will  .strug¬ 
gle,  against  all  odds,  in  every  lawful  way,  and 
to  the  last  available  moment,  before  1  will  yield 
the  control  of  Missouri  to  her  traitorous  inhab- 
itants.  No  such  disgrace  and  disaster  shall 
befall  her,  if  in  my  power  to  prevent,  it. 

As,  from  the  moment  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
rebellion,  the  spirit  of  shameless  lying  h.is 
characterized  those  engaged  in  if,  and  those 
who  are  with  it  in  heart,  so  now  the  main  wea¬ 
pon  of  ihe  Conservatives  of  Missouri  against 
the  Radicals  is  atrocious  and  persistent!  talse- 
hood.  We  ate  charged,  as  a  body,  with  pur¬ 
poses  which  we  have  never  expressed  or  enter¬ 
tained.  A  strenuous  effort  has  been  made,  upon 
the  basis  of  false  and  wholly  groundless  impu¬ 
tations,  to  build  up  in  opposition  to  us  a  >o- 
called  “  Law  and  Order  party  and  Law  and 
Order  meetings”  have  been  held  in  some  coun¬ 
ties,  at  which  the  Radical  Union  men  have  been 
denounced  in  the  same  category  with  rebels  and 
bushwhackers.  We  have  been  stigmatised  as 


12 


“Jacobins;”  as  “ revolutionary  factionists;” 
as  “engaged  in  schemes  looking  to 
revolution  and  violence:”  as  “in  rebellion 
against  the  Union  and  the  Constitution;”  as 
“attempting  to  overthrow  the  State  Govern¬ 
ment;”  as  “the  party  of  commotion,  and  vio¬ 
lence,  and  crime,  and  anarchy,  and  disregard  of 
all  law:  ”  and  “men  of  all  parties,  who  are  in 
favor  of  preserving  the  peace  of  the  State,  of 
enforcing  the  laws,  and  protecting  citizens  from 
violations  of  the  laws,”  are  invited  to  attend 
“  law  and  order  meetings  ;”  where  the  “erring 
brother”  returned  from  “Price’s  army,”  the 
bushwhacker,  the  secessionist,  the  Copperhead 
and  the  “Southern  sympathizer”  skulk  in  to 
help  men  claiming  loyalty  pass  resolutions  de¬ 
faming  and  denouncing  the  Radical  Union  men 
of  Missouri !  It  is  the  old  game  of  the  pursued 
thief  crying  “stop  thief!”  There  is  but  one 
way  to  meet  it,  and  I  have  so  met  it  wherever  I 
have  spoken  in  this  State.  I  say  here,  in  the 
capitol  of  the  State,  as  I  have  repeatedly  said 
elsewhere,  that  whoever,  directly  or  by  implica¬ 
tion,  in  speech,  in  writing,  or  in  print,  charges 
upon  the  Radical  Union  party  of  Missouri  any 
intent  of  revolutionary  violence  or  unlawful  act 
utters  an  atrocious  lie.  I  like  not  to  use  that 
word  in  a  public  address ;  but  the  circumstances, 
in  my  opinion,  demand  it.  The  true  Union 
men  of  Missouri  have  suffered  enough  of  outrage 
and  defamation  at  the  hands  of  her  disloyal 
people.  We  ought  not  quietly  to  submit  any 
longer  to  be  branded  as  unfaithful  to  our  obli¬ 
gations  as  law-abiding  and  patriotic  citizens. 
We  are  in  heart  and  soul  loyal  to  our  country, 
to  law,  to  duty,  to  honor,  and  to  truth:  and  that 
is  infinitely  more  than  he  who  has  been,  in  fact 
or  in  feeling,  with  this  hell-born  rebellion,  can 
say,  or  in  his  conscience — if  he  has  any — would 
dare  to  say  he  is. 

My  friends,  that  there  is  excitement  among 
the  loyal  people  of  Missouri  cannot  be  denied. 
The  presence  here  to-day  of  this  large  Mass  Con¬ 
vention  from  every  part  of  the  State  affirms  it. 
And  there  is  cause  for  excitement.  The  loyal 
inhabitants  of  this  ill-fated  State  have  suffered 
more  than  those  of  any  other  State  that  has  ad¬ 
hered  to  the  Union.  They  have  endured  every 
form  of  aggravated  and  unmerited  wrong.  Roy¬ 
alty  to  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  has 
brought  bitterness  to  them.  Their  property  has 
been  wrested  from  them  by  pillaging  bands  of 
traitors  ;  their  habitations  have  been  given  to 
the  flames;  they  have  been  murdered  in  cold 
blood ;  and  they  have  been  disarmed  by  the  au¬ 
thorities  in  whose  support  they  were  ready  and 
willing  to  do  all  and  venture  all;  thereby  be¬ 
coming  an  easier  prey  to  the  blood-thirsty 
fiends  that  infest  wide  districts  of  our  State. 
Surrounded  by  treachery  the  most  adroit  and 
cruel;  beset  by  devilish  marauders,  whose  ap¬ 
pearance  they  know  not  when  or  whereto  guard 
against ;  trembling  by  day  and  by  night  for 
their  possessions  and  their  families;  worn  and 
wasted  by  robbery,  arson,  and  every  outrage; 
and  apparently  given  over  utterly  in  many 
places  to  the  grasp  of  the  guerrilla  and  the 
bushwhacker;  they  are,  in  large  portions  of  the 
State,  harassed,  impoverished,  and  overborne 
by  accumulated  calamity,  beyond  any  concep¬ 
tion  of  those  who  only  read  the  meagre  reports 
which  find  their  way  into  the  public  journals  of 
the  day.  Is  it  a  marvel  that  they  are  excited  ? 
Would  it  not  be  wonderful  if  they  were  not?  What 
other  people  ever  endured  so  much  without  ex¬ 
citement  ?  Shall  men  sit  quietly  down  and  with 
indifference  see  themselves  despoiled,  beggared, 


and  driven  forth  as  fugitives  from  their  homes  ? 
Have  we  got  to  that  point  when  fathers  can  look 
with  stoicism  upon  the  slaying  of  their  sons, 
and  wives  upon  the  murder  of  their  husbands? 
If  we  have,  then  has  the  time  come  when  popu¬ 
lar  excitement  should  be  put  down,  as  detrimen¬ 
tal  to  the  body  politic.  But  that  point  is  not 
yet  reached.  Our  hearts  are  not  yet  callous  to 
our  own  miseries,  or  to  those  of  others.  We 
are  not  able  to  see  why  such  full,  heaping 
measure  of  wrong  should  be  dealt  out  to  loyal 
people,  while  the  disloyal  eat  and  drink  and 
sleep  and  work  and  journey  in  peace  and  safety. 
We  do  not  comprehend  why  protection  should 
be  so  fully  accorded,  as  we  know  it  to  be,  to 
men  of  known  disloyalty,  while  the  loyal  citi¬ 
zen  is  not  only  not  protected,  but  has  been  re¬ 
quired  to  forego  his  Constitutional  right  to  bear 
arms,  and  to  surrender  to  the  military  power 
the  weapons  upon  which  alone  he  eould  de¬ 
pend  for  protecting  himself,  his  family, 
and  his  property.  We  do  not  under¬ 
stand  why  military  officers  who  pursued  the 
miscreants  of  blood  and  plunder  with  an  en¬ 
ergy  that  threatened  their  extermination,  should, 
without  a  word  of  explanation,  be  relieved  of 
their  commands,  or  mustered  out  of  service,  in 
the  midst  of  their  career,  and  succeeded  by  men 
under  whose  administration  the  work  of  spolia¬ 
tion  and  blood  is  plied  with  renewed  vigor  and 
success.  We  do  not  see  w'hy  large  numbers  of 
men — or  indeed  any — who  at  the  onset  of  the  re¬ 
bellion  were  outspoken  and  offensive  Secession¬ 
ists,  should  be  appointed  to  high  military  posi¬ 
tions  under  the  State  Government,  while  men 
always  and  unconditionally  for  the  Union  are 
refused  such  positions,  or  thrust  from  them. 
We  do  not  perceive  why  men  of  thorough 
and  consistent  loyalty  should  be  arrested 
and  imprisoned  by  the  military  authorities,  for 
no  assigned  cause,  or  for  so  small  a  cause  as 
questioning  the  wisdom  and  purity  of  Governor 
Gamble’s  administration  and  policy;  and  we  re¬ 
sent  such  arrests,  and  ought  to  resent  them.  And 
least  of  all  do  we  comprehend  why  the  earnest 
and  beseeching  appeals  of  Missouri’s  loyal  and 
suffering  people  to  the  head  of  the  nation  for 
protection,  should,  apparently,  be  intercepted 
or  neutralized,  and  he  be  made  to  believe  that 
they  proceed  from  a  “pestilent  faction,”  whose 
aim  is  to  “  torment  ”  him.  It  is  because  of  all 
these  things  that  there  is  excitement  among  the 
loyal  people  of  Missouri ;  and  I  say  that  they 
would  deserve  to  suffer  on,  if  they  were  not  ex¬ 
cited.  But  it  is  not  an  excitement  which 
threatens  or  looks  to  any  lawless  or  reckless 
proceeding.  It  asks  only  redress  for  incalcula¬ 
ble  evils,  by  lawful  means ;  and  this  Conven¬ 
tion  is  one  of  the  means  it  takes  to  make  itself 
heard  and  felt  in  quarters  where,  to  hear  and  feel 
it,  may  remove  or  mitigate  the  sore  trials  under 
which  our  people  have  suff’ei  ed.  God  grant  that 
those  in  power  may  eive  heed  to  the  voice  of 
Missouri’s  loyal  people,  before  that  burden  be¬ 
comes  intolerable! 

But  not  in  these  matters  alone,  bitter  and 
hard  to  be  borne  as  they  are,  have  the  loyal 
Union  people  of  Missouri  been  wronged.  While 
conservative  policy  has  left  them  to  be  pillaged 
and  murdered,  it  has  gathered  its  strength  and 
put  forth  its  hand  to  wrest  from  them  their  rightful 
control  in  the  affairs  of  Missouri,  and  to  shape 
the  fundamental  law  and  the  organic  institutions 
of  our  State,  according  to  the  behests  of  her  disloyal 
people.  A  coalition  has  been  formed  to  over¬ 
throw  the  Radical  Union  party,  and  deliver  the 
State  over  to  the  dominion  of  that  Conservative 


IB 


party,  which  contains  all  the  disloyalty  of  Mis¬ 
souri.  At  the  head  of  that  coalition  is  Gover¬ 
nor  Gamble ;  and  he  is  sustained  in  it  by  almost 
every  Federal  office-holder  of  any  note  in  the  j 
State;  by  a  host  of  State  officers  appointed  by 
himself  to  positions  of  high  impor-  i 

tance,  civil  and  military ;  and  by  an 
army  of  politicians,  who  are  seeking  i 
their  own  advancement,  and  know  that  from  the 
Radical  Union  men  of  Missouri  they  have  noth-  j 
ing  to  hope.  No  such  combination  has  anywhere 
been  made  against  the  loyal  people  of  any  loyal 
State.  It  is  the  great  feature  of  the  day  in  Mis¬ 
souri.  It  is  known  to  every  observing  man  in 
the  State,  and  it  attracts  the  attention  of  the 
country.  I  wish  to  portray  its  course  of  wrong 
to  Missouri’s  loyal  people.  1  will  do  it  plainly, 
fairly,  and  thoroughly  ;  for  I  deem  it  of  the 
greatest  moment  that,  in  this  State  and  through¬ 
out  the  loyal  States,  the  position  of  our  affairs, 
and  that  of  the  men  who  have  wronged  that 
people,  should  be  clearly  understood.  I  will 
endeavor  to  present  a  historical  summary  of 
the  leading  facts,  in  such  simple  and  connected 
form,  that  no  man  can  fail  to  comprehend  the 
whole  matter. 

The  point  at  which  I  begin  is  the  accession  of 
Governor  Gamble  to  the  Provisional  Chief  Mag¬ 
istracy  of  Missouri,  on  the  31st,  of  July,  1861; 
for  from  that  time  the  course  of  public  affairs  in 
this  State  has  connected  itself  directly  with  the  J 
circumstances  of  the  present  period.  His  first  ; 
public  declaration  as  Governor  was  significant 
of  his  own  opinions  and  feelings,  and  of  those 
of  the  people  he  was  appointed  to  govern.  On 
the  4th  of  August,  1861,  he  issued  a  proclama¬ 
tion  to  that  people,  in  which,  referring  to  his 
appointment,  he  said  it  “ would  satisfy  all  that  no 
countenance  would  be  afforded  to  any  scheme  or 
any  conduct  calculated  in  any  degree  to  interfere 
with  the  institution  of  Slavery  existing  in  the  State , 
and  that  to  the  utmost  extent  of  Executive  power  that 
institution  would  be  protected.  ”  Concerning  this 
remarkable  declaration  two  things  are  apparent : 
first ,  that  Governor  Gamble  was  then,  and  de¬ 
sired  it  to  be  known  that  he  was,  a  pro-Slavery  | 
man,  and  intended  to  be  a  pro-Slavery  Governor; 
and  second ,  that  he  believed  the  people  of 
Missouri  to  be  a  pro-Slavery  people;  as,  in  my 
opinion,  a  large  majority — perhaps  seven- 
eighths— of  them  then  were.  This  proclamation 
is  the  first  point  to  be  borne  in  mind;  for  it 
assumes  importance  in  connection  with  subse¬ 
quent  events. 

The  sentiments  of  the  people  of  Missouri  in 
regard  to  the  institution  of  Slavery  underwent 
a  radical  change,  not  many  months  after  that 
proclamation  was  issued.  They  came,  by  slow 
but  sure  degrees,  to  understand  that  this  re¬ 
bellion  had  but  one  origin  and  purpose — the 
aggrandizement  of  Slavery  as  a  political  power, 
the  destruction  of  the  noble  Republic  inherited 
from  our  fathers,  and  the  substitution  for  it  in  j 
the  South  of  a  great  and  strange  Empire,  based 
on  Slavery,  and  intended  for  subjugation, 
piracy,  and  eventual  dominion  over  this  whole 
continent.  When  they  saw  it  announced  au¬ 
thoritatively  by  the  parties  engaged  in  the  work 
of  founding  that  empire,  that  they  were  only 
consummating  what  had  been  in  conspiracy  for 
forty  years  ;  when  they  saw  that  for  Slavery  the 
Southern  aristocrats  were  striving  to  overturn 
the  liberties  of  the  American  people,  disrupt 
their  Union,  and  destroy  their  Constitution  ; 
when  they  perceived  that  the  success  of  this 
unexampled  and  incomparable  scheme  of  out¬ 
rage,  fraud,  perjury,  and  treason,  would  plunge 


this  nation  into  perpetual  war,  and  that  as  long 
as  Missouri  should  be  a  slave  State,  she  would 
be  one  of  the  chief  victims  of  that  war;  when, 

I  say,  all  these  things  became  manifest  to 
the  loyal  people  of  Missouri,  a  mighty 
revolution  in  their  opinions  concerning  Slavery 
began,  and  from  month  to  month  moved  on 
with  tremendous  rapidity  and  force.  Never,  1 
will  venture  to  affirm,  was  there  witnessed  in 
this  country  so  marked  and  swift  a  revolution 
of  public  sentiment  in  regard  to  so  important 
a  matter.  And  it  was  all  the  more  glorious, 
because  it  sprang  from  a  glowing  and  vital  pa 
triotism,  which  rejoiced  in  any  sacrificeof  opin¬ 
ion  or  interest  in  so  holy  a  cause.  While  South¬ 
ern  traitors  were  demanding  the  emancipation 
of  Slavery  from  contact  with  the  free  institu 
tions  of  the  North,  the  loyal  people  of  Missouri 
demanded  her  emancipation  from  contact  with 
that  institution,  which  they  recognized  as  aim 
ing  fatal  blows  at  all  they  loved  in  country,  all 
they  cherished  in  memory,  and  all  they  clung  to 
in  hope  for  themselves  and  their  posterity. 

The  tendency  of  the  public  mind  to  the  remo¬ 
val  ot  Slavery  from  Missouri  received  a  decided 
impulse  in  April,  1862,  in  consequence  of  the 
passage  by  Congress,  upon  the  recommendation 
of  the  President,  of  a  resolution,  declaring 
“  that  the  United  States  ought  to  co-operate  with 
any  State  which  may  adopt  gradual  abolishment 
of  Slavery,  giving  to  such  State  pecuniary  aid, 
to  be  used  by  such  State  in  its  discretion,  to 
compensate  for  the  inconveniences,  public  and 
private,  produced  by  such  change  of  system.” 
The  great  obstacle  to  Emancipation  in  Missouri 
was  the  provision  in  her  Constitution,  prohibi¬ 
ting  the  Legislature  from  passing  any  law  “for 
the  emancipation  of  slaves,  without  the  consent 
of  their  owners,  or  without  paying  them,  before 
such  emancipation,  a  full  equivalent  for  such 
slaves  so  emancipated.  ”  As  such  compensation 
from  our  own  resources  was  an  impossibility, 
the  resolution  of  Congress  held  out  the  hope  of 
its  coming  from  the  National  treasury,  and  the 
feeling  in  favor  of  Emancipation  received  there¬ 
from  increased  force  and  extension. 

With  the  loyal  sentiment  of  Missouri  in  this 
transition  state  from  decided  pro-iSlaveryism  to 
radical  anti-Slaveryism,  the  State  Convention 
assembled  on  the  2d  of  June,  1S62,  on  the  call  of 
the  Governor.  On  the  7th  of  that  month,  Judge 
Breckinridge  introduced  into  that  body  an  Or¬ 
dinance  proposing  a  plan  of  gradual  Emanci¬ 
pation,  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  for  their 
ratification  or  rejection,  on  the  first  Monday  of 
August,  1864,  and  supported  it  in  a  speech ;  at 
the  close  of  which,  on  motion  of  Judge  Hall,  of 
Randolph,  the  Ordinance  was  laid  on  the  table, 
by  a  vote  of  52  to  19  ;  and,  to  use  a  well-known 
and  significant  expression,  exultingly  applied, 
at  the  time,  to  the  act,  Emancipation  was 
“  hilled  at  the  first pop .”  The  Convention  thereby 
pronounced  itself  opposed  to  Emancipation. 
It  was  a  pro-Slavery  body,  and  of  course  intol¬ 
erant.  It  would  hear  no  more  on  the  subject 
than ,  what  Judge  Breckinridge  had  a  parlia¬ 
mentary  right  to  urge,  and  having  heard  that,  it 
was  prepared  to  consign  his  proposition,  and 
did  consign  it,  to  a  tomb  from  which  there 
should  be  no  resurrection. 

Six  days  after  this  act  of  the  Convention,  on 
the  13th  of  June,  Governor  Gamble  sent  a  mes¬ 
sage  to  that  body,  relating  entirely  to  its  action 
on  Judge  Breckinridge’s  Ordinance.  He  saw 
that  that  action  “might  be  represented  as  rudely 
discourteous  to  the  President  and  Congress,” 
and  “would,  without  doubt,  be  so  misrepre- 


14 


sented  as  to  excite  a  hostile  feeling  to  the  State, 
among  all  those  in  authority  who  favor  Eman¬ 
cipation,  and  thus  injuriously  affect  the  interests 
of  the  State.'1'1  'the  object  of  that  message,  mani¬ 
fest  upon  its  face,  was  to  tell  the  members 
of  the  Convention  how  they  might  get  out  of  the 
twofold  scrape  they  had  got  iuto,  with  the  Na¬ 
tional  Government  and  with  their  own  people. 
Not  a  word  indicated  the  least  sympathy  with 
Emancipation;  not  a  word  took  off  the  keen  edge 
ofthe  pro-Slavery  proclamation  of  August,  1861. 
The  Governor  was  still  Missouri’s  pro-Slavery 
Governor.  Eighteen  mouths  of  Slavery’s  war 
upon  the  Union  had,  apparently,  implanted  in 
his  mind  no  sentiment  against  the  peculiar  in¬ 
stitution,  here  or  elsewhere  ;  his  sole  anxiety 
was,  that  there  should  be  “no  appearance  of  a 
design  to  treat  the  offer  of  the  President  and 
Congress  with  neglect.”  He  suggested,  and 
most  truly,  that  “  it  was  not  con¬ 
templated  by  the  people,  when  electing  the 
body,  that  it  should  ever  act  upon  the  subject  of 
Slavery  in  the  State,  and  therefore  such  action 
"would  be  improper  a  reason  as  valid  for  all 
future  time,  as  then.  He  suggested  further, 
that  “the  public  mind  was  so  agitated  already 
that  the  proposal  of  any  scheme  of  Emancipation 
would  produce  dangerous  excitement;”  a  rea¬ 
son  for  non-action  fully  as  forcible  in  June,  1863, 
as  in  June,  1862.  These  suggestions  he  accom¬ 
panied  with  the  following  remarks  : 

“  in  theory,  Conventions  are  understood  to 
possess  all  political  power,  but  in  actual  prac¬ 
tice  they  confine  themselves  to  the  measures 
upon  which  the  people  at  the  time  of  their  elec¬ 
tion  expected  them  to  act.  When  this  Conven¬ 
tion  was  chosen,  the  subject  before  the  public 
mind  was  the  relations  between  the 
State  and  the  general  Government.  Act¬ 
ing  upon  this  subject,  the  Convention 
deposed  a  Governor  and  Legislature,  because 
they  were  trying  to  disturb  those  rela¬ 
tions ;  militia  ordinances  were  adopted,  be¬ 
cause  a  military  force  was  necessary  to  main¬ 
tain  those  relations;  the  offices  of  all  persons 
who  refused  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  were 
vacated,  because  official  power  in  the  hands  of 
disloyal  persons  might  be  employed  to  disturb 
such  relations;  laws  were  vacated,  because  they 
had  been  passed  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  on 
a  collision  with  the  general  Government — in 
fine,  the  action  of  the  Convention  has  been 
mainly  addressed  to  the  one  subject  which  it 
was  elected  to  consider,  and  to  those  which 
arose  out  of  it. 

t(  When,  then,  it  is  asked  to  entertain  a  prop¬ 
osition,  whieh  is  to  effect  a  radical  change  in 
the  social  organization  of  the  State,  it  is  well 
warranted  in  declining  to  act  upon  the  proposi¬ 
tion,  upon  the  ground  that  the  people,  in  choos¬ 
ing  the  Con  mention,  never  intended  or  imagined 
that  the  body  would  undertake  any  social  revo¬ 
lution  wholly  unconnected  with  the  relations 
between  the  State  and  the  general  Government. 
No  person  who  understands  the  principles  of 
our  Government  would  object  to  such  action, 
unless  it  be  one  who  is  willing  to  disregard  all 
principle  to  accomplish  a  desired  end.” 

As  1  have  said  on  former  occasions,  so  I  reit¬ 
erate  now,  that  this  language  embodies  and 
affirms  the  following  five  propositions: 

1.  That  Emancipation  is  a  social  revolution. 

2.  That  it  is  wholly  unconnected  with  the  re¬ 
lations  between  the  State  and  the  general  Gov¬ 
ernment. 

_  3.  That  the  people,  in  choosing  the  Conven¬ 
tion,  never  intended  or  imagined  that  it  would 


undertake  to  act  on  the  subject  of  Emancipa¬ 
tion. 

4.  That,  therefore,  the  Convention  was  well 
warranted  in  declining  to  act  upon  it. 

5.  That  whoever,  understanding  the  princi¬ 
ples  of  our  Government,  would  object  to  the 
Convention’s  so  declining  to  act,  is  willing  to 
disregard  all  -principle  to  accomplish  a  desired 
end. 

No  grounds  could  have  been  assumed 
more  fatal  to  the  propriety  or  expediency  of  any 
action  by  that  Convention,  at  any  time,  upon 
the  subject  of  Emancipation.  We  shall  see,  as 
we  proceed,  how  the  Governor  maintained  his 
own  voluntarily-assumed  position. 

There  is  a  very  striking  fact  disclosed  by  the 
Journal  of  the  Convention  in  connection  with 
the  paragraphs  just  quoted  from  the  Governor’s 
message.  The  Convention,  acting  upou  his  sug¬ 
gestion,  proceeded  to  consider  how  it  should 
respond  to  the  resolution  of  Congress.  A  com¬ 
mittee  was  appointed,  which  reported  a  pream¬ 
ble  and  resolutions.  Lieutenant  Governor  Haul 
offered,  as  a  substitute  for  the  report  of  the 
committee,  a  preamble  and  a  resolution,  the 
latter  of  which  was  as  follows: 

“  Resolved ,  'That  while  this  Convention  recog¬ 
nizes  the  liberality  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  in  the  action  referred  to,  yet  the 
Convention  thinks  it  should  not  act  upon  the 
subject  of  Emancipation,  for  the  following  among 
other  reasons.” 

The  resolution  then  copies,  word  for  word, 
the  paragraphs  of  the  Governor’s  message  above 
cited,  except  the  first  and  last  sentences. 
On  the  vote  upon  the  adoption  of  that 
substitute,  every  member  who  voted  for  it 
declared  himself  emphatically  as  sustaining  the 
Governor’s  objections  to  any  action  by  that  Con¬ 
vention,  at  any  time,  on  the  subject  of  Emanci¬ 
pation.  And  yet,  one  year  afterward,  Lieut. 
Gov.  Hall  was  one  of  the  committee  that  reported 
an  Ordinance  of  Emancipation  for  that  body  to 
pass  ;  and  fifteen  of  those  who  voted  for  his  res¬ 
olution  in  June,  1862,  changed  front  in  June, 
1863,  and  voted  for  the  ordinance  then  passed 
by  that  Convention ! 

Having  seemingly  given  a  death-blow  to 
Emancipation  in  that  body,  the  Convention  ad¬ 
journed  to  the  4th  day  of  July,  1863,  when,  with¬ 
out  re-assembling,  it  was  to  stand  adjourned 
sine  die.  ‘it  declared  its  work  done,  and  each 
man  went  his  way,  never  expecting  to  return. 
But  the  door  was  left  open  for  there-assembling 
ofthe  body  upon  the  call  ofthe  Governor.  One 
man  held  the  power  to  reinstate  at  any  moment 
the  rule  of  that  Convention  ;  and  we  shall  see 
how  he  exercised  it. 

Eive  months  after  the  Convention’s  action 
upon  Judge  Breckinridge’s  proposition,  an 
election  was  held  for  members  of  the  General 
Assembly.  '1  hey  were  months  of  steady  and 
rapid  progress  in  the  popular  mind  in  favor  of 
Emancipation.  Every  day  the  loyal  people  of 
Missouri  grew  more  radical  in  sentiment 
against  Slavery,  their  country’s  enemy.  Mis¬ 
souri’s  Emancipation  army  was  “marching  on.” 
The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  a  decided 
majority  of  Emancipationists  in  each  House; 
but  unfortunately,  mainly  through  the  machina¬ 
tions  of  Federal  rjpce-holders ,  high  in  position  in 
our  State ,  differences  of  opinion  as  to  plans  of 
Emancipation  were  created.  The  Legislature 
met  on  the  29th  of  December,  1862,  and  on  the 
following  day  received  the  Governor’s  message. 
To  the  surprise  of  many  who  remembered  his 
proclamation  of  August,  1561,  and  his  message 


15 


to  the  Convention  in  June,  1862,  he  declared 
himself  in  favor  ot  Emancipation,  and  recom¬ 
mended  action  by  the  Legislature  in 
relation  to  it.  But  he  felt  the  em¬ 
barrassment  produced  by  the  Constitutional 
limitation  upon  the  power  of  the  Legislature, 
before  referred  to.  As  it  was  impossible  for  the 
State,  unaided,  to  pay  any  such  equivalent  for 
the  slaves  emancipated  as  that  provision  re¬ 
quired,  the  Governor  recommended  that  an  act 
should  be  passed,  providing  that  the  children 
of  slave  women,  born  thereafter,  should  be  born 
free,  and  should  remain  in  the  custody  and  un¬ 
der  the  control  of  the  owner  of  their  mothers 
until  attaining  a  certain  age;  which  plan,  he 
considered,  would  require  no  compensation  to 
be  paid  to  the  slaveholder  but  for  “the  dimin¬ 
ished  value  of  the  female  slaves  thus  rendered,  inca¬ 
pable  of  bearing  slaves.'1'1  And  such  an  act,  so  ut- 
utterly  impotent  to  remove  Slavery  from  our 
soil, — for,  standing  by  itself,  it  would  never 
have  secured  freedom  to  one-tenth  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  born  after  its  passage, — he  intimated 
might  be  made  to  take  effect,  upon  provision  be¬ 
ing  made  by  Congress  for  the  small  amount  of 
compensation  required  ! 

1  his  was  gravely  proposed  by  Governor  Gam¬ 
ble  as  a  plan  of  Emancipation  ;  proposed  as  an 
“effectual  mode  of  extinguishing  the  desire  of 
the  rebel  leaders  to  have  this  State  within  the 
pretended  Confederacy  ;”  proposed  as  a  meaus 
of  “  encouraging  immigration  from  the  free 
States!”  It  would  have  been  about  equal  in  its 
effects  to  dropping  a  homeopathic  pill  into  the 
proboscis  of  a  sick  elephant.  I  refer  to  it,  be¬ 
cause  it  is  a  fact  connected  with  the  wrong  done 
to  the  loyal  people  of  Missouri,  which  is  to  be 
exposed. 

'the  Legislature  sat  from  the  29th  of  December, 
1862,  to  the  23d  of  March,  1863,  and  then  ad¬ 
journed  over  to  the  10th  of  November  next,  hav¬ 
ing  done  nothing  to  advance  the  cause  of  Eman¬ 
cipation.  On  the  18th  of  March,  the  Senate,  by 
a  vote  of  17  to  15,  passed  a  Concurrent  Resolu¬ 
tion,  requesting  the  Governor  to  call  the  Con¬ 
vention  together  at  an  early  period,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  into  consideration  the  subject 
of  Emancipation;  every  Conservative  voting 
for  it,  and,  aided  by  two  Radicals,  passing  it. 
No  attempt  was  ever  made  to  take  up  this  resolution 
in  the  House,  nor  could  any  such  attempt  have 
been  successful.  On  the  same  day,  the  Senate 
passed  a  bill  for  the  election  of  a  new  Conven¬ 
tion,  provided  the  old  Convention  did  not,  be¬ 
fore  the  succeeding  first  of  July,  adopt  a  scheme 
of  Emancipation.  Two  attempts  were  made  to 
get  this  bill  up  in  the  House ;  but  it  required  a 
two-thirds  vote  to  suspend  the  rules  ;  and  each 
time  theeffort  failed  by  a  single  vote.  And  with 
both  resolution  and  bill  thus  pending  in 
the  House,  and  open  for  action  when  the  Legis¬ 
lature  should  re-convene  in  November,  the 
adjournment  took  place.  But  let  it  not  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  the  effort  in  the  House  to  get  the  bill 
up,  indicated  any  desire  among  the  Emancipa¬ 
tionists  there  to  pass  it  in  the  shape  in  which  it 
came  from  the  Senate.  On  the  contrary,  it  was 
perfectly  understood  that  if  it  had  been  got  up, 
the  provision  referring  to  the  old  Convention 
would  have  been  certainly  struck  out. 

The  facts  which  1  have  thus  stated  in  detail  are 
all  necessary  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the 
case.  Let  us  now  examine  their  bearings  upon 
the  main  point — the  wrong  done  to  the  loyal 
people  of  Missouri. 

1  have  placed  before  you  Governor  Gamble’s 
message  to  the  Convention  in  June,  1862,  and 


his  message  to  the  Legislature  in  the  following 
December;  and  how  does  the  matter  standi 
Why,  thus.  In  his  judgment,  at  the  former  pe¬ 
riod,  the  Convention  had  no  business  to  act 
upon  Emancipation  at  all,  because  the  people, 
in  choosing  it,  never  intended  or  imagined 
it  would  undertake  to  act  upon  that 
that  subject ;  and  therefore  the  Convention 
was  well  warranted  in  killing  Judge 
Breckinridge’s  Ordinance  ;  and  no  one  would 
find  fault  with  it  for  so  doing,  unless  he  was 
willing  to  disregard  all  principle.  So  much  lor  the 
Convention,  'then,  as  to  the  Legislature,  he 
finds  that  it  is  hampered  by  a  Constitutional 
provision,  which  precluded  any  action  on  its 
part,  except  to  declare  after-born  children  of 
slave  mothers  to  be  born  free  ;  and  that  action 
was  suggested  to  take  effect  only  when  Congress 
should  provide  the  means  for  paying  the  owners 
of  the  mothers  for  the  injury,  resulting  to  them 
from  making  the  mothers  incapable  of  breeding 
any  more  slaves.  Here,  then,  was  a  Governor 
declaring  himself  in  favor  of  Emancipation,  and 
arguing  in  favor  of  it  to  a  Legislature  that  was 
in  favor  of  it,  but  almost  powerless  to  do  any¬ 
thing  for  it,  which  Legislature  represented  a 
people  that  were  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  it: 
what  was  the  course  he  should  have  taken  ?  Can 
any  right-minded  man  hesitate  in  declaring 
that,  if  ihe  Governor  was  earnestly  an  Emanci¬ 
pationist,  he  should  and  would  have  pointed  the 
Legislature  to  some  way  by  which  the  popular 
will  might  be  carried  into  effect?  As  matters 
then  stood  he  found  the  way  blocked;  why  did 
be  ignore  the  only  way  that  lay  wide  open — a 
direct  appeal  to  the  people,  in  the  election  of  a  new 
Convention  ? 

This  is  no  idle  question.  Every  man  knows 
that  he  can  often  judge  another  as  well  by  what 
he  does  not,  as  by  what  he  does.  If  a  man  is 
drowning,  and  you  do  not  throw  a  rope  to  him 
when  you  have  one,  because  you  have  tried  to 
save  him  by  your  hand  and  failed,  would  not 
all  the  world  say,  and  say  justly,  that  you  were 
indifferent  to  his  fate,  or  wanted  him  to  drown? 
And  so,  when  Governor  Gamble  recommended 
Emancipation  to  the  Legislature  which  was 
powerless,  and  also  held  that  the  Convention 
ought  not  to  act  upon  the  subject,  because  it  was 
not  elected  for  any  such  purpose,  and  at  the 
same  time  said  not  one  word  in  favor  of,  or  in 
allusion  to,  that  other  course  which,  if  pursued, 
would  have  secured  Emancipation,  and  secured 
it  as  the  people  desired  it,  and  so  settled  the 
matter  forever  ;  1  demand,  and  have  a  right  to 
demand,  why  he  preserved  that  silence?  Will 
it  be  said  it  was  not  his  province?  He  is  re¬ 
quired  by  the  Constitution  of  the  State  to  “  re¬ 
commend  to  their  consideration  such  measures 
as  he  may  deem  necessary  and  expedient.”  Will 
it  be  said  it  was  not  proper  for  him  to  suggest 
that  particular  mode  of  action  ?  Why  not  ?  He 
could  suggest  to  the  Convention  excuses  and 
arguments  to  sustain  their  action  on  Judge 
Breckinridge’s  Ordinance ;  and  he  could  suggest 
Emancipation  to  the  General  Assembly,  and 
argue  in  favor  of  it;  why  not  suggest  and  sup¬ 
port  the  only  means  of  obtaining  Emancipation 
in  such  way  as  to  satisfy  the  people  ?  Will  it  be 
said  that  he  could  not  have  known  that  a  re¬ 
commendation  from  him  on  that  point  would 
have  helped  the  measure?  He  had  no  right,  for 
that  reason,  to  withhold  it,  any  more  than  to 
refuse  to  recommend  any  other  measure,  because 
he  didn’t  know  whether  it  would  be  adopted. 
But  nothing  is  more  certain,  thau  that,  if  he  had 
advocated  a  new  Convention ,  an  act  providing  for  it 


16 


would  have  been  passed.  But  here  came  in  a  bug¬ 
bear,  that  was  paraded,  during  the  whole  ses¬ 
sion  of  the  Legislature,  to  defeat  the  bill  for  a 
new  Convention,  viz  :  that  if  a  new  Convention 
should  be  called,  there  might  arise  a  conflict  be¬ 
tween  it  and  the  old  Convention.  But  that  was 
impossible,  unless  Governor  Gamble,  after 
the  new  Convention  was  authorized,  should 
call  the  old  one  together  again;  for 
it  never  could  meet  again,  except  upon 
his  call.  And  so  it  was  perfectly  in 
his  power  to  have  procured  a  new  Convention, 
and  also  to  have  prevented  the  reassembling  of 
the  old  one.  Why  did  he  not  so  do?  I  cannot  say 
upon  his  authority,  for  he  has  never  told  me.  or, 
so  lar  as  1  know,  told  the  world.  I  am  forced 
to  conclusions  upon  the  facts  as  they  are  known 
to  the  public.  If  my  conclusions  are  unjust  to 
Governor  Gamble,  I  am  sorry  for  it;  1  do  not 
seek  them.  I  say,  citizens  of  Missouri,  that  1 
can  see  no  other  reason  for  his  utter  silence  in 
regard  to  a  new  Convention,  than  that  he  did 
not  intend  that  the  People  should  have  any 
further  opportunity  to  say  or  do  anything  what¬ 
ever,  practically,  on  the  subject  of  Emancipa¬ 
tion.  In  other  words ,  he  determined,  if  possible, 
to  urrest  the  whole  matter  out  of  tlieir  hands ,  and 
force  Emancipation  upon  them  through  the  old  Con¬ 
vention ,  regardless  of  their  wishes,  and  in  defi¬ 
ance  oi  their  sacred  right  to  shape  their  own 
fundamental  law  and  their  own  do¬ 
mestic  institutions.  This  is  the  only  conclu¬ 
sion  I  can  arrive  at,  and,  before  God,  I  believe 
it  to  be  a  right  one. 

That  it  was  Governor  Gamble’s  purpose  so  to  use 
the  old  Convention,  is  manifest  from  subsequent 
events.  The  Legislature  adjourned  on  the  23d 
of  March,  1863,  and  on  the  15th  of  April  he  issued 
his  call  for  the  Convention  to  meet  on  the  15th 
of  June,  to  “  consult  and  act  upon  the  subject  of 
Emancipation  of  slaves,  and  such  other  matters 
as  may  be  connected  with  the  peace  and  pros¬ 
perity  of  the  State.”  In  his  judgment,  it  was 
“  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  interest  of  the 
State  that  some  scheme  of  Emancipation  should 
be  adopted.” 

My  friends,  looking  at  this  act  of  the  Gover¬ 
nor  in  the  light  of  his  previous  declarations, 
and  of  the  then  condition  of  things  in  the  State, 
I  cannot  but  regard  it  as  one  of  the  most  extra¬ 
ordinary  exercises  of  Executive  power  that 
have  ever  fallen  under  my  observation  ;  and  as 
indefensible  as  it  was  extraordinary.  Why, 
look  at  it.  Only  ten  months  and  two  days  before 
the  date  of  that  call,  he  had  solemnly  declared 
to  the  Convention,  that  the  people,  in  choosing 
that  body,  never  intended  or — mark  the  word— 
imagined  that  it  would  undertake  to  act  on  the 
subject  of  Emancipation;  and  now  he  calls 
them  to  do  that  very  thing !  He  had  told 
the  Convention,  moreover,  that  it  was 
;ustified  in  killing  an  ordinance  of  Emancipa¬ 
tion  in  the  way  it  did,  and  yet  he  calls  it  together 
to  pass  such  an  Ordinance.  He  had,  with  a  severity 
of  expression  unusual  for  him,  declared,  in 
effect,  that  no  man  of  principle  would  have  that 
Convention  act  on  that  subject ;  and  yet  he  con¬ 
venes  it  for  that  very  purpose !  What  does  this 
mean  ?  Was  it  the  same  man  speaking  in  June, 

1862,  in  condemnation  of  any  action  by  that 
Convention  upon  that  subject,  who,  in  April, 

1863,  called  them  to  act  upon  it?  Yes,  it  was 
the  same  Governor  Gamble  in  body,  but  unfor¬ 
tunately  not  in  mind.  A  change,  a  wondrous 
change,  had  come  over  his  opinions  in  that  brief 
time.  He  no  longer  saw  that  it  was  wrong  for 
that  Convention  to  take  Emancipation  in  hand 


and  act  upon  it,  but  contrariwise  saw  it  was 
right ;  though  the  grounds  upon  which  he  based  his 
previous  opinion  remained  precisely  the  same.  He 
no  longer  held  that  any  man  who  wanted  it  so 
to  act  was  an  unprincipled  man;  for  he  wanted 
that  very  thing.  He  saw  no  more  that  Emanci¬ 
pation  was  a  social  revolution,  wholly  uncon¬ 
nected  with  the  relations  between  the  State 
and  the  general  Government,  which  the  people, 
in  choosing  that  Convention,  never  dreamed  it 
would  undertake.  And,  above  all,  he  forgot 
that  for  such  a  body,  so  elected,  to  assume  to 
act  upon  such  a  subject,  was  a  grievous  wrong 
to  a  people  who  were  at  that  very  time  repre¬ 
sented  by  another  set  of  men,  in  their  General 
Assembly;  who  had  been  elected  twenty-one 
months  after  the  Convention,  and  actually  had 
pending  before  them  propositions  looking  to  a 
settlement  of  the  whole  matter  by  a  new  Con¬ 
vention,  to  be  elected  for  that  express  end. 

It  is  due  to  Governor  Gamble,  and  to  the 
cause  of  truth  and  fair  discussion,  that  I  should 
take  time  and  space  to  present  whatever  grounds 
I  find  anywhere  taken  by  him  in  defense  of  his 
recall  of  that  Convention,  as  it  were,  from  the 
brink  of  its  grave.  He  has  twice  expressed 
himself  in  relation,  to  that  matter ;  first,  in  his 
message  to  the  Convention,  at  the  opening  of  the 
late  session;  and  secondly ,  in  a  speech  he  made 
in  the  Convention  on  the  27th  of  June.  In  his 
message  he  used  the  following  language : 

“The  importance  of  the  subject.  [Emancipa¬ 
tion,]  in  its  relation  to  all  the  interests  of  the 
State,  demanded,  in  my  judgment,  very  speedy 
action  by  a  body  capable  ol  finally  disposing  of 
it,  by  the  adoption  of  some  wise  and  just  scheme 
of  Emancipation.  The  Senate  passed  a  joint 
resolution  requesting  me  to  call  the  Convention 
together,  and  also  a  bill  for  the  election  of  dele¬ 
gates  to  a  new  Convention,  provided  your  body 
should  not,  before  the  first  day  of  July  next, 
adopt  a  scheme  of  Emancipation.  Although 
neither  of  these  measures  was  acted  upon  in  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives,  yet  the  friends  of 
Emancipation  in  the  House  exhibited  the  great¬ 
est  earnestness  in  endeavoring  to  have  the  bill 
which  came  from  the  Senate  acted  upon  by  the 
House,  and  were  only  foiled  by  the  application 
of  stringent  parliamentary  rules.  This  action 
in  the  Assembly  gave  strength  to  my  own  con¬ 
viction,  that  you  should  be  called  together, 
rather  than  wait  until  the  Assembly  should 
again  convene  in  November  next,  and  then  ini¬ 
tiate  measures  of  Emancipation,  which  might 
require  sometime  before  they  could  have  effect.” 

In  his  speech  in  the  Convention  he  thus  ex¬ 
pressed  himself : 

“  This  Convention  is  called  in  this  city  that 
there  should  be  Emancipation — that  thei'e  shall 
be  Emancipation. 

“It  is  said  that  this  is  in  conflict  with  the 
communication  I  made  to  this  body  last  session. 
What  is  that  communication  in  its  general 
scope?  I  say  that  an  answer  is  demanded  to 
the  offer  of  the  General  Government.  The  pre¬ 
sent  position  of  the  question  here  is  such  that 
you  cannot  act  upon  it ;  and  why  ?  Because 
you  have  laid  it  upon  the  table,  which  is  a  final 
disposition  of  the  subject.  I  state  reasons 
which  you  might  assign  as  reasons  for  the  course 
you  adopted. 

“  The  suggestions  offered  were  made  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Convention,  and  to  make  a  cour¬ 
teous  answer  to  the  President  and  to  Congress.” 

In  these  two  extracts  we  have  all  that  the 
Governor  has  said,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  defense 
of  his  calling  that  Convention  to  act  on  the  sub- 


17 


ject  of  Emancipation.  The  singular  vapidness  of 
the  latter  will  attract  attention.  It  gives  no 
answer  to  the  charge  of  inconsistency,  takes 
back  nothing,  explains  nothing.  His  justifica¬ 
tion,  if  any,  is  to  oe  found  in  the  passage  quoted 
from  his  message  to  the  Convention  ;  and  let  us 
examine  that. 

He  says  he  called  the  Convention  together,  be¬ 
cause,  first ,  in  his  judgment,  “very  speedy 
action”  was  demanded;  second ,  because  the 
Senate  had,  by  a  majority  of  two  votes,  passed  a 
resolution  requesting  him  to  do  so;  third ,  be¬ 
cause  the  Senate  had  passed  a  bill  for  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  a  new  Convention,  provided  the  old  one 
did  not,  before  the  first  of  July,  1863,  adopt  a 
scheme  of  Emancipation ;  and  fourth ,  because 
the  friends  of  Emancipation  in?the  House  exhib¬ 
ited  the  greatest  earnestness  in  endeavoring  to 
have  that  bill  acted  upon  by  the  House. 

My  friends,  I  confess  to  "a  feeling  of  sadness 
and  humiliation  at  such  an  exhibition  on  the 
part  of  one  so  high  in  station,  for  whom,  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  had  enter¬ 
tained  the  highest  respect.  Never  before,  prob¬ 
ably,  did  a  high  public  officer  in  this  country 
more  expose  himself  to  criticism  and 
condemnation,  than  did  Governor  Gam¬ 
ble  in  that  assignment  of  reasons  for 
that  act.  The  utter  insufficiency,  the  absolute 
puerility  of  such  a  defense,  must  be  apparent 
to  the  most  limited  comprehension.  Nay,  more 
and  worse,  does  it  not  bear  the  plainest  marks 
of  insincerity  ?  Why  was  “  very  speedy  action  ” 
necessary?  What  circumstances  forbade  that 
Emancipation  should  be  postponed  until  the 
people  could  act  upon  it  through  a  new  Conven¬ 
tion?  He  states  none,  nor  can  any  man  desig¬ 
nate  any.  But  if  they  existed  when  he  issued 
his  call  on  the  15th  of  April,  they  must  have  ex¬ 
isted  before  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature 
on  the  23d  of  March:  why,  if  there  was  such  ur¬ 
gency,  did  he  not  communicate  it  to  that 
body,  and  let  it  provide  for  the  exigency?  The 
old  Convention  was  elected  twenty-eight  days, 
and  assembled  thirty-eight  days,  after  the 
passage  of  the  act  authorizing  it;  what 
was  to  prevent  a  like  promptness  in  the  election 
and  assembling  of  a  new  Convention  ?  Had  the 
Legislature  passed  an  act  to  call  a  new  Conven¬ 
tion,  it  might  have  met,  passed  an  ordinance 
of  Emancipation,  and  adjourned,  before 
the  day  he  fixed  for  the  old  Convention  to 
assemble;  and  so  the  “very  speedy  action” 
would  have  been  had,  sooner  than  it  was  had 
at  the  hands  of  the  body  which  assembled  in 
obedience  to  his  sole  will !  As  to  the  reasons 
based  on  the  proceedings  in  the  two  branches  of 
the  General  Assembly,  they  are  not  worthy  of 
argument  or  notice.  To  the  whole  batch  I  sim¬ 
ply  oppose  his  own  declaration,  in  1S62,  '‘'‘that 
the  'people  in  choosing  the  Convention  never  intended 
or  imagined  that  the  body  would  undertake  any 
social  revolution  wholly  unconnected  with  the  rela¬ 
tions  between  the  State  and  the  general  Govern¬ 
ment  ;  ”  and  his  still  more  emphatic  announce¬ 
ment,  in  the  same  paragraph,  that  “ no  person 
v)ho  understands  the  principles  of  oar  Government 
would  object  to  such  action  [as  that  upon  Judge  Breck¬ 
inridge's  Ordinance,]  unless  it  be  one  who  is  xoilling 
to  disregard  all  principlk  to  accomplish  a  de¬ 
sired  end."  Let  Governor  Gamble  reconcile 
himself  with  himself,  if  he  can.  If  he  can  es¬ 
cape  his  own  denunciation,  it  is  more  than  I 
could,  were  I  in  his  position. 

But  not  alone  on  the  grounds  so  stated  by 
Governor  Gamble  was  it  a  wrong  to  the  loyal 
people  of  Missouri  to  summon  that  Convention 


to  the  great  work  of  Emancipation.  Even  if 
those  grounds  had  not  existed,  there  were  others 
which  made  it  offensive  and  injurious  to  the 
people  for  that  body  to  handle  that  great  sub¬ 
ject.  Elected  in  February,  1861,  it  was,  in  no 
respect,  except  in  the  persons  of  the  eleven 
members  elected  in  May  and  June,  1868,  to  fill 
vacancies,  an  authentic  exponent  of  the  public 
sentiment  of  Missouri  when  it  assembled  to 
make  its  final  record.  The  constituency  of  1863 
was ,  in  law  and  in  fact ,  wholly  different  from  the 
constituency  of  1861.  The  Convention  itself,  in 
June,  1862,  had  prescribed  new  conditions  for 
the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise,  requiring 
the  taking  of  a  solemn  and  searching  oath  or 
allegiance,  and  expurgation  from  complicity  in 
the  rebellion  after  the  lTth  of  December,  1861, 
as  a  prerequisite  to  the  right  of  voting.  Every 
man  who  would  not  take  that  oath  was  banished 
from  the  polls,  was  disfranchised  as  a  voter, 
was  not  one  of  the  people  whose  will  was  to  be 
considered.  The  control  of  the  State  had  passed, 
by  fundamental  constitutional  enactments,  into 
the  hands  of  its  loyal  people,  or  those  who 
would  stand  that  test  of  their  loyalty.  That 
Convention,  therefore,  was  no  embodiment  or 
representative  of  the  will  of  the  rightful  constitu¬ 
ency  of  1863,  but  of  a  former  and  a  different 
constituency;  a  large  proportion  of  which  was 
then  in  the  armies  of  the  rebellion,  or  pursuing 
the  bloody  work  of  the  bushwhacker,  or  sulk¬ 
ing  at  home  in  self-imposed  abstinence  from  the 
right  of  suffrage,  because  it  dared  not  appeal  to 
God  to  witness  its  freedom  from  the  stain  of 
treasou,  or  the  sincerity  of  its  allegiance  to  the 
noblest  Government  He  ever  vouchsafed  to  man. 
When,  therefore,  the  Governor  convened 
that  body  to  perform  the  glorious  work 
of  Emancipation,  he  convened  a  body 
which,  whatever  its  legal  power,  had  no  more 
moral  right  to  do  that  work,  without  submitting 
its  action  to  the  present  constituency,  that  is, 
the  loyal  people  of  Missouri,  than  would  the 
Legislature  of  Maine  or  Oregon. 

Not  only  so,  but  more.  It  was  a  body  which 
had  shown  itself,  a  year  before,  opposed  to  the 
consideration  even  of  the  subject  of  Emancipa¬ 
tion,  and  it  has  never  signified  that  its  feelings 
had  changed  on  that  point.  True,  it  ordained 
what  it  termed  Emancipation  ;  but  not  because 
it  desired  or  favored  that  great  measure;  but 
because  it  was  resolved  to  prevent  its  accom¬ 
plishment  by,  and  according  to  the  desire  of,  the 
loyal  people  of  the  State.  No  man  lives  who 
dares  affirm  that  a  majority  of  that  Convention 
were  for  Emancipation  on  principle,  from  con¬ 
viction,  or  in  feeling.  It  was  essentially  a  pro- 
Slavery  body.  Of  the  fifty-one  members  who 
voted  for  the  ordinance  passed,  forty  were 
slaveholders;  a  few  of  whom  should  be  honored 
for  their  advocacy  of  the  cause  of  Freedom  for 
its  own  sake;  all  the  rest  were  but  playing  a 
part.  And  it  was  a  body,  the  control  of  which 
was  in  the  hands  of  men  whose  past  acts  there 
gave  evident  token  of  disloyalty.  Eighteen  tcere 
there  who  voted  in  July ,  1861, t  against  the  deposition 
of  Governor  JacTcson;  and  sixteen  of  them — all 
who  were  present  at  the  time,  and  more  than 
enough  to  have  changed  the  result  in  each  case 
— voted,  in  1863,  against  an  election  of  a  Gover¬ 
nor  and  other  State  officers  by  the  people,  and 
for  the  exemption  of  slave  property  from  taxa¬ 
tion;  and  eight  of  them — more  than  enough  to 
have  changed  the  result — against  submitting  the 
ordinance  of  Emancipation  to  the  people  for 
ratification.  Twenty-one  were  there  wrho  voted, 
in  1861,  against  turning  out  the  traitorous  Legis- 


18 


iature  of  that  year.  Sixteen  were  there  how 
voted  against  the  abrogation  by  the  Convention 
of  the  treasonable  laws  enacted  by  that 
Legislature.  Twenty-two  were  there  who 
voted  against  the  test-oath  ordinance 
cf  June  10,  1862,  intended  to  exclude 

traitors  from  the  polls.  Sixteen  were  there  who 
had  voted  against  allowing  oar  brave  soldiers 
to  vote  in  tbeir  camps  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
State.  The  efficient  control,  in  fact,  was  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  had  in  Buch  ways  signalized 
their  disloyalty;  aided  by  seventeen,  who  were 
bound  to  the  Gamble  dynasty  by  offices  of  trust 
and  profit  received  from  it.  And  this  was  the 
body  which,  am  Colonel  Doniphan  said  at  Lib¬ 
erty,  after  its  adjournment,  was  convened  by 
Governor  Gamble,  on  the  request  of  “  certain 
•wealthy  slaveholders  residing  indifferent  parts  of 
the  State.”  For  what  purpose?  To  ordain 
Emancipation  according  to  the  will  of  the  State’s 
loyal  people  ?  No ;  but  that  “ something  should  he 
done  to  save  slave  property  from  utter  waste  and  spo¬ 
liation ,  and  (jive  to  slaveholders  a  Irrief  opportunity 
to  make  the  best  disposition  in  their  power  of  their 
slaves  /” 

From  such  a  body,  convened  on  such  a  prin¬ 
ciple,  controlled  by  such  influences,  and  work¬ 
ing  to  such  ends,  what  could  be  expected,  other 
than  has  been  realized  ?  Called  ostensibly  to 
destroy  Slavery,  it  labored  disloyally  for  its 
preservation  from  the  early  doom  which  the 
loyalty  of  Missouri,  if  it  could  have  spoken, 
would  have  awarded  it,  and  postponed  Eman¬ 
cipation,  nominally,  until  the  4th  of  July,  1870, 
but  in  fact  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 'longer. 
TV  bile  there  were  those  who  desired  and  labored 
for  Emancipation  for  its  own  sake,  and  for  the 
sake  of  Missouri  and  the  Union,  the  potential 
Influence  was,  at  heart,  against  Emancipation 
on  any  grounds,  and  equally  against  every  rad¬ 
ical  me  isure  against  Slavery  anywhere.  Few 
there  .yielded  their  pro-Slavery  viewB  in  obedi¬ 
ence  to  the  anti-slavery  sentiments  of  their  peo¬ 
ple;  but  there  were  numbers  there  who  knew 
that  they  utterly  misrepresented  the  popular 
will  in  the  <  lets  whence  they  came.  Nothing 
concerning  ti  tody  was  more  true  or  more  ap¬ 
parent,  than  that,  pretending  to  favor  Emanci¬ 
pation,  it  was  resolved  to  postpone  it  to  the  last 
possible  moment,  and  to  yield  it  on  the  least 
possible  injurious  terms"  to  the  slaveholder. 
And  even  that  tvas  done  with  the  open  avowal 
by  some,  that  before  the  period  fixed  for  the 
emancipation  of  the  negro  from  slavery,  and  his 
transmission  to  a  condition  of  servitude,  the 
peoole  would  elect  three  Legislatures  ;  justifying  the 
inference  that,  before  that  period  should  arrive, 
the  work  of  the  Convention  might  be  repealed. 
Of  Emancipation  obtained  at  the  hands  of  such  a 
body,  in  the  form  it  was  pleased  to  grant, — pro- 
Slaverv  Emancipation, if  such  a  solecism  is  allow¬ 
able,— Governor  Gamble  was  the  chief  engineer; 
showing  himself  still,  to  my  mind,  to  be,  as  hew  as 
in  1861,  Missouri’s  pro-Slavery  Governor.  True, 
the  date  he  at  one  time  proposed  for  Slavery  to 
cease,  nominally,  in  Missouri,  was  not  that 
finally  fixed;  but  even  in  the  same  breath  that 
he  expressed  himself  as  desiring  the  4th  of 
July,  1867,  he  announced  with  remarkable  ac¬ 
commodativeness,  “  i  am  willing  to  receive  any 
action  that,  in  y our  judgment,  is  best.’’  But 
some  action  he' was  resolved  should  be  had, 
then  and  there,  and  he  6taked  his  official  posi¬ 
tion  as  Governor  upon  it.  Ln  his  speech  to  the 
Convention,  on  the  27th  of  June,  this  paragraph 
occurs: 

“  if,  after  having  exercised  my  best  judgment 


upon  this  subject,  I  have  called  this  Convention 
together  for  the  purpose  of  action,  aDd  it  should 
separate  with  the  expression  of  a  contrary 
opinion,  or  without  adopting  any  scheme  of 
Emancipation,  I  would  not  feel  myself  at  liberty 
to  continue  in  the  exercise  of  the  Executive 
function.  I  would  feel,  as  a  Minister  in  Eng¬ 
land,  when  a  proposition  of  his  is  voted  down 
in  the  Commons,  that  it  is  a  denial  of  the  cor¬ 
rectness  of  his  judgmentas  to  the  proper  policy 
of  the  State,  and  he  resigns  at  once;  so  I  would 
not  feel  at  liberty  to  continue  iD  the  Executive 
office,  if  the  Convention  did  not  pass  some 
scheme  of  Emancipation  ;  because  it  would  be 
a  judgment  adverse  to  what  I  think  should  be 
the  iolicy  of  the  State.” 

A  id  the  pro-Slavery  Convention,  the  balanoe 
of  power  in  which  was  held  by  men  whose  past 
acts  there  proclaim  them  disloyal  at  heart, 
bowed  to  the  Governor’s  demand  for  “some 
scheme  of  Emancipation,”  because  his  continu¬ 
ance  in  office  was  necessary  to  them  and  their 
plans,  and  the  price  of  it  waB  any  scheme  of 
Emancipation  they  might  choose  to  adopt  I 
Fasy  terms!  facile  Governor  I  pliant  Conven¬ 
tion  1  and  all  that  “something  should  be  done 
to  save  slave  property  from  utter  waste  and 
spoliation,  and  give  io  slaveholders  a  brief  op¬ 
portunity  to  make  the  best  disposition  in  their 
power  of  their  slaves  !” 

Bad  Governor  Gamble  been  half  as  solicitous 
for  the  people’s  approval  of  his  administration 
as  he  was  for  the  Convention’* — half  asfearfulof 
a  popular  “denial  of  the  correctness  of  bis  judg¬ 
ment  as  to  the  proper  policy  of  the  State,”  as  h6 
was  of  such  a  denial  by  the  Convention .  he  would 
have  been  a  wiser  man  and  a  better  Governor, 
He  would  then  have  known  that  the  loyal  people 
of  Missouri  long  ago  abandoned  all  hope  of 
him  as  a  defender  and  supporter  of  true,  uncom¬ 
promising  loyalty  in  our  di  sneaked  and  ravaged 
State;  and  that  since  what  he  deemed  “the 
proper  policy  of  the  State,”  has  been  inaugura¬ 
ted  by  him,  there  is  not  a  disloyal  man  or  toyman 
in  all  Missouri  that  is  not  his  backer.  Truly,  “the 
laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,”  and  the  Gover¬ 
nor  has  received  his.  He  enjoys  position,  pow 
er,  influence,  but  at  what  a  terrible  price !  But 
all  his  other  m impolicies  are  of  transient  mo 
meat,  compared  with  that  upon  which  be  put  his 
hazard  in  that  Convention.  Almost  the  life 
breath  of  Missouri  hung  upon  action  there. 
His  influence  shaped  that  action,  not  for  the  cause 
of  Emancipation  and  the  Union, —one  and  the 
same  in  Missouri — but  for  Slavery,  the  Union's 
enemy,  and  lor  slaveholders,  almost  all  its  ene 
mies,  too.  He  lent  the  weight  of  his  age  and 
office,  his  name  and  his  personal  character,  to  s 
scheme  for  the  support  of  Slavery,  and  the  over¬ 
throw  ot  the  great  loyal  party  in  Missouri,  and 
in  that  Convention  he  won,  but  lost  all  with 
loyal  Missourians.  To  a  man  hastening  on  to 
threescore  and  ten  and  the  grave,  what  earthly 
gain  can  overbalance  such  a  loss  ? 

1  have  thus,  my  friends,  endeavered  to  place 
before  you  the  circumstances  of  the  wrongs  suf¬ 
fered  by  the  loyal  people  of  Missouri  through 
the  policy  of  Governor  Gamble,  and  the  acts  ol 
the  dead  Convention,  which  he — the  only  man 
on  earth  that  could  do  it — called  to  life  again 
In  all  American  history  there  is  do  paralleling 
it,  except  in  some  of  those  Southern  States, 
where  secession  and  rebellion  were  forced  upon 
the  people  by  the  aristocrats  of  Slavery.  Thank 
God!  however,  there  is  virtue  enough  left  in 
the  loyal  people  of  Missouri  to  raise  their 
voice  '  against  the  attempt  to  trample 


10 


upon  their  most  sacred  rights.  They  raise  it 
here  to-day;  not  in  revolutionary  shouts,  notin 
sedition,  hot  in  disregard  of  law,  not  in  der¬ 
ogation  of  the  duties  of  true  citizenship,  not  in 
any  unlawful  or  unauthorized  way;  but  with 
the  high  and  hol^  purpose  that  despotism  shall 
be  forced  to  recoil  before  the  moral  power  of  an 
aroused  people.  We  are  here  to  speak,  to  judge, 
and  to  do  what  becomes  freemen,  in  a  manner 
suited  to  freemen.  The  cry  of  the  arch-traitor 
was,  “  All  we  ask  is  to  he  let  alone!”  and  the  pro- 
Slavery  emancipationists  of  the  defunct  Con¬ 
vention  shout  the  same  cry.  But  they  are  not 
to  be  let  alone.  They  are  to  be  made  to  feel  that 
they  cannot  commit  treason  against  Popular 
Sovereignty,  and  be  let  alone.  They  are  to  learn 
that  there  is  a  People,  to  Whom  they  are  account¬ 
able,  and  upon  wbos-  necks  they  cannot  put 
their  feet  with  impunity.  They  are  to 
be  taught  that  they  cannot  snatch  the 
work  of  Misouri’s  regeneration  out  of 
the  “hands  of  her  loyal  men,  and 

then  sing  them  to  sleep.  They  are  to  under¬ 
stand  that  their  work  is  rejected  by  the  people, 
and  they,  too.  They  ask  us  to  accept  their  or¬ 
dinance  as  a  finality:  we  do  accept  it  as  a  final¬ 
ity—  to  them!  But,  conceived,  as  it  was,  in 
wrong  to  the  people;  planned,  as  it  was,  in  the 
interest  of  slavery ;  brought  tortb,  as  it  was,  by 
a  body  which  was  so  conscious  of  its  wrong, 
ihat  it  refused  to  let  the  people  pass  upon  it, 
avowing  through  their  leaders  that  the  people 
would  reject  it  ;  and  upheld,  as  it  is,  by  every 
rebel,  secessionist,  bushwhacker,  and  Copper¬ 
head  in  the  State;  we,  loyal  men  of  Missouri, 
who  love  our  country  more  than  Slavery— who 
have  borne  patiently  all  that  has  befallen  us, for 
the  sake  of  the  Union— who  have  consecrated 
our  all  to  the  maintenanceof  that  Union  against 
all  enemies — and  who  are  determined,  come 
what  may,  to  rebuke,  denounoe,  and  overthrow 
disloyalty,  whatever  form  or  guise  it  may  as¬ 
sume — >ce  reject  that  Ordinance  as  a  JinuUty  of 
rag  question.  We,  aDd  our  brethren  in  loyalty 
in  Missouri,  are  able  to  manage  the  af¬ 
fairs  of  Missouri,  and  we  will  do  it.  We 
ask  no  interference  or  help  from  traitors  or  their 
friends,  in  office  or  out.  We  will  bide  our  time, 
as  loyal  meu  should,  looking  for  the  day  of  de¬ 
liverance.  It  will  surely  come.  This  is  the 
day  of  the  office-  holders  and  the  politicians,  the 
rebels  and  their  sympathizers,  the  pro-Slavery 
men  and  their  courtiers;  the  day  of  the  People 
will  come,  and  with  it  confusioD,  dismay,  and 
defeat  to  all  who  have  ‘lared  to  take  part  in  the 
attempt  of  that  Convention  to  dominate  Missouri 
in  the  interest  of  Slavery.  Let  it  not  be  said,  as 
Mr.  Henderson  is  reported  to  have  said,  that  the 
Ordinance  is  the  best  that  could  be  procured 
the  circumstances!  Who  made  the  circum¬ 
stances?  Who  but  be  and  those  who  acted  with 
him  ?  And  shall  they  make  the  circumstances, 
and  then  plead  them  in  their  own  extenuation  ? 
Let  them  stand  aside,  and  the  people  will  mr  xe 
other  circumstances,  from  which  something  l  t- 
itr  will  come  forth,  of  measures  and  of  men. 

Let  us  not,  my  friends,  lose  sight  of  the  gr<;iit 
and  vital  truth,  that  not  only  is  this  a  struggle 
for  Popular  {sovereignty,  but  tor  loyal  supremacy 
4*%  Missouri.  In  that  view  no  man  can  compute 
its  importance  to  us  as  a  people.  If  we  sleep 
now,  all  is  lost.  The  loyal  men  of  Missouri  are 
her  rightful  sovereigns.  If  true  to  themselves 
and  to  the  great  cause  which  in  the  providence 
of  God  is  committed  to  their  keeping,  all  will 
be  well.  Missouri  loyalty  has  become  an  hon¬ 
ored  name  in  the  land,  it  Imports  all  of  daunt¬ 


less  bravery,  stern  resolution,  and  heroic  forti¬ 
tude,  that  could  illustrate  the  character  and 
glorify  the  history  of  aDy  people.  Let  us  be 
true  to  our  record  and  our  fame,  through  to  the 
end.  If  we  have  no  country,  we  are  wanderers, 
if  we  have  ao  Government,  we  are  a  prey  to  ty¬ 
rants;  if  we  have  no  Union,  we  have 
neither  country  nor  Government.  All 
lives  or  dies  with  the  Union.  Let  our 
souls  cling  to  it,  our  fortunes  sustain  it,  our 
hands  uphold  it,  and,  if  need  be,  our  blood  how 
for  it.  For  nearly  three  years  wc  have  had  to 
defend  it.  Let  us  defend  it  thrice  three  more,  if 
such  be  the  will  of  God ;  defend  it  against  tbs 
traitor  in  arms  and  the  traitor  in  heart ; 
against  the  open  and  the  secret  foe ;  agaiDot  the 
wily  politician,  the  cunning  plotter,  tbeunscru 
pulous  schemer,  though  he  wrap  himself  in  the 
bright  folds  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes;  agalnBt 
perfidy,  treachery,  and  disloyalty  in  every  form, 
everywhere,  always,  to  the  glorious  end  that 
awaits  us,  if  we  are  true.  This  our  work  is 
not  in  the  South — it  is  here,  in  Missouri, 
We  are  beset  on  every  side  by  the  armed  rebel, 
the  prowling  bushwhacker,  the  Southern  sym¬ 
pathizer,  the  devotee  of  Slavery,  all,  openly  or 
covertly,  the  Union’s  enemies.  And  they  are 
oura,  too.  They  are  striving  for  the  mastery  in 
Missouri.  The  calling  of  that  Convention  to  or 
daln  Emancipation  was  a  part  of  their  game 
The  next  move  will  be  to  secure  a  Legislature 
that  will  repeal  the  test-oath  ordinance,  which 
excludes  them  from  the  polls  ;  and  then  will  coma 
the  reign  of  disloyalty,  the  repeal  of  Emancipa¬ 
tion,  the  triumph  of  Slavery,  the  hunting  down 
and  driving  out  of  Union  me' — all,  all  will 
come.  Meet  the  issue  here  and  now.  Proclaim 
that  loyalty  shall  govern  Missouri.  Demand  of 
the  General  Assembly  a  law  author, zing  tb® 
election  of  a  nw  Convention,  wherein  the  peo¬ 
ple,  not  politicians  and  office-holder?-,  snail 
speak.  Demand  that  the  people  be  pmmitted  to 
elect  their  own  rulers.  Demand  Emancipation, 
immediate,  unconditional,  Jinal.  Demand  l  he  per= 
petual  dirtram  bisement  ot  every  man  who  has 
taken  part,  hare  or  elsewhere,  in  this  damnwhls 
rebellion.  Enforce  your  demand  by  every  tawful 
agency,  device,  and  influence,  with  e.gy  and 
fidelity,  with  firm  confidence  and  steady  perseve¬ 
rance;  and  there  is  no  power  on  earih  that  can 
resist  yoo.  Justice  and  rijght  are  wiihyou ;  eveiy 
loyal  he*rt  in  the  land  is  with  you;  tte  great 
and  precious  principles  of  free  government  are 
with  you  ;  the  mighty  People  are  with  you;  and, 
in  the  not  distant  future,  victory  will  be  with 
you,  and  defeat  and  oblivion  with  all  in  Mis¬ 
souri  who  oppose  the  sacred  cause  op  Popular 
{Sovereignty  and  the  Union  [Immense  cheer 
ing.] 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Lovelace,  the  delegates  from 
the  respective  counties  were  instructed  to  name 
one  more  member  on  the  Committee  on  Plat¬ 
form  and  Resolutions.  An  adjournment  of  fif¬ 
teen  minutes  took  place. 

On  re-assembling  the  following  were  an¬ 
nounced  : 

First  District— H.  A.  Clover. 

Seoond  District — Judge  Owens. 

Third  District — Captain  W.  T.  Lee per 

Fourth  District — J.  B.  Clark,  Sr, 

Fitth  District— L.  C.  MarviD. 

Sixth  District — Judge  C.  Carpenter. 

Seventh  District— R.  M.  Stewart. 

Eighth  District — James  R.  Wincbell 

Ninth  District— Frederick  Mueoch. 

On  motion,  it  was  ordered  that  1,000  copies  of 
the  delegates ’s  names  be  printed  for  the  use  of 


20 


members,  and  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
collect  funds  for  that  purpose. 

The  Present  appointed  on  said  committee 
Messrs.  Lovelace,  Howland  and  Trapp. 

Mr.  Northcut  moved,  and  it  was 

“  Resolved ,  That  Hon.  Mr.  Drake  be  requested 
to  furnish  the.  Secretary  with  a  copy  of  his 
speech  for  publication. 

“  Resolved ,  That  we  indorse  every  sentence  aiid 
word  of  the  speech.” 

Adopted,  amidst  loud  cheers. 

Mr.  Rombauer  olfered  the  following,  which 
was  referred  : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  recommended  to  the  citi¬ 
zens  of  the  State  of  Missouri  to  meet  in  primary 
meetings  on  the  last  Monday  of  October  next, 
and  to  elect  judges  of  election  for  special  polls: 
said  j  udges  of  election  to  open  these  special  polls 
on  the  first  Tuesday  in  November  in  proximity 
to  the  polls  for  the  election  of  Supreme  and  Cir¬ 
cuit  Court  Judges  ;  to  receive  in  such  polls  the 
ballots  of  the  citizens,  marked  “For  a  new  Con¬ 
vention,”  and  “Against  a  new  Convention.” 
Election  judges  to  send  in  their  certified  reports 
to  the  Executive  Central  Committee  of  the  Eman¬ 
cipation  party. 

Mr.  Lightner  offered  the  following,  which  was 
referred : 

Resolved,  That  Missouri  requires  and  demands 
as  indemnity  for  the  past  and  security  for  the 
future  the  extinction  of  slavery,  and  the  dis¬ 
franchisement  of  rebels. 

The  following,  offered  by  Mr.  Bond,  was  also 
referred : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  resolutions 
be  instructed  to  prepare  a  resolution  express¬ 
ive  of  our  sympathies  with  the  Lawrence  suffer¬ 
ers. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  until  eight 
o’clock,  for  the  delivery  of  addresses  by  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Convention. 

THE  EVENING  SESSION. 

The  evening  session  was  confined  strictly  to 
addresses  from  members  of  the  Convention. 
During  the  afterooon  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  delegates  arrived  from  the  counties  along 
the  line  of  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph,  the 
Platte  Country,  and  the  Northern  Missouri  Rail¬ 
roads,  and  from  St.  Louis.  Their  arrival  was 
greeted  with  loud  demonstrations  of  pleasure 
from  those  already  in  session. 

The  chair  was  occupied  by  J.  H.  Lightner,  and 
after  spirited  calls  for  Loan,  Johnston,  Preto- 
rius,  and  others,  who  were  not  present,  some  of 
them  descried  the  tall  form  of  Elder  Bratten, 
the  fighting  parson  of  Chillicothe.  The  mention 
of  his  name  was  the  signal  for  a  general  call  for 
“  the  parson.” 

Rev.  Mr.  Bratten  came  forward  and  remark¬ 
ed  : 

I  presume  that  this  audience  simply  wishes  to 
look  at  me  as  the  otject  of  Copperhead  malig¬ 
nity  and  arrest,  [Cheers.]  I  am  no  politician 
nor  stump  orator.  I  simply  came  here  to  repre¬ 
sent  Livingston  county  in  this  mass  convention 
of  loyal  men,  and  I  am  proud  to  meet  you,  be¬ 
cause  my  whole  heart  and  soul  is  in  the  object 
for  which  we  are  assembled.  I  have  been  en¬ 
gaged  for  the  last  ten  years  in  battling  for  the 
very  principles  for  which  we,  as  a  party,  are 
to-day  battling.  In  1855  I  came  to  the  State 
when  your  border  was  in  disorder  and  confu¬ 
sion — when  scenes  similar  to  those  just  enacted 
at  Lawrence  were  matters  of  frequent  occur¬ 
rence.  I  had  read  of  these  outrages,  and  it  was 
this  that  impelled  me  to  locate  in  the  State.  I 


came  to  raise  my  voice  and  give  my  influence 
and  cast  mv  vote  against  slavery.  Perhaps  all 
of  you  know  the  status  of  the  Methodist  Epis¬ 
copal  Church  North.  I  was  born  a  Methodist, 
with  the  principles  of  Methodist  abhorrence  for 
slavery  in  my  mind.  My.  father  was  a  Kentuck¬ 
ian  ;  raised  among  the  institution  of  slavery, 
wrhen  I  came  to  ripe  years  and  saw 
the  workings  of  the  system  like  Moses,  who  re¬ 
fused  to  be  called  the  sin  of  Pharoh’s  daughter, 
I  choose  rather  to  be  found  among  the  people  of 
God  than  dwelling  in  the  tents  of  the  wicked. 
[Cheers.]  My  education  was  all  against  the 
institution  of  slavery,  and  I  have  nothing  to 
boast  of  in  being  an  anti-slavery  man.  I  had  a 
good  constitution  and  a  strong  arm,  and  I 
thought  I  was  one  of  the  men  capable  of  battling 
the  institution  in  Missouri.  When  I  came  here 
I  expected  to  meet  those  cursed  ruffians  who  ad¬ 
vocated  the  murder  of  abolitionists,  so  when 
they  placed  me  in  a  district  where  they  rode 
Methodist  preachers  on  rails,  I  girded  upon  my 
body  two  good  six-shooters.  1  sent  word  to 
them,  “If  you  wish  a  good  specimen  of  a  Meth¬ 
odist  preacher  to  hang,  come  on  with  your  ropes. 
If  you  are  not  prepared  to  die,  you  had  better 
make  your  peace  with  God.  I  am  ready  to  die, 
and  if  you  come,  some  of  you  will  have  to  bite 
the  dust.”  [Loud  cheers.]1  I  would  here  say  to 
the  Convention,  wre  should  obtain  our  rights 
peaceably,  if  possible ;  if  not,  fight  for  them  we 
must.  [Applause.]  Gentlemen,  I  am  a  law  and 
order  man,  but  while  I  live,  no  man  shall  ever 
trample  upon  my  rights.  I  feel  as  an  American 
citizen,  that  my  forefathers  fought  for  their 
rights,  and  being  a  free  man  and  an  honest  man, 
no  person  shall  stop  my  mouth.  [Cheers.]  But 
with  regard  to  the  subj  ect  before  the  Convention, 
let  me  say  I  was  a  Clay  Whig,  but  simply  voted. 
I  never  took  any  political  action  in  discussing 
the  tariff,  banking,  etc.;  but  fellow  citizens, 
when  this  question  of  secession  arose,  I  consid¬ 
ered  it  one  of  importance,  and  differing  in  im¬ 
portance  from  all  others.  And  when  the  war 
broke  out,  I  found  these  vile  rebel  scoundrels 
around  my  house ;  but  I  did  not  fear  them. 
[Cheers.]  One  said  to  another,  “You  had  better 
be  careful  of  that  d — d  abolition  preacher, 
for  he  carries  pistols  all  around  him.” 
[laughter  and  cheers,]  and,  gentlemen,  they 
were  careful.  I  mounted  my  old  circuit  horse, 
took  my  blanket,  three  or  four  day’s  rations  and 
went  to  the  field;  [loud  applause]  on  the  follow¬ 
ing  day  I  wTas  brought  into  the  drill,  and  I  felt 
I  was  keeping  that  day  holy  to  the  Lord. 
[Cheers.]  Gentlemen,  I  never  enjoyed  more  of  a 
feeling  of  religion  and  the  consciousness  of 
the  approbation  of  God  in  my  life.  [Great  cheer- 
i  ing.]  I  made  up  these  propositions  in  my  mind : 
War  has  come ;  there  must  be  bloodshed,  and  if 
we  don't  Icill  these  infernal  rebels  they  will  hill  vs; 
I  thought  they  had  better  die  than  honest  Union  men, 
and  I  went  out  with  the  determination  to  kill 
them.  [Loud  applause.]  I  have  have  had  it  in 
my  mind  ever  since,  and  I  can  religiously  kill 
a  rebel.  I  think  I  can  do  God  and  man  service, 
and  some  portion  for  the  devil,  too.  [Loud 
laughter  and  cheers.]  Gentlemen,  I  propose  to 
be  in  this  fight  just  as  soon  as  we  can  find  a 
traitor  to  fight.  My  determination  is  never  to 
relax  our  efforts;  never  to  cease  until  the  last 
traitor  seeks  his  hole.  [Cheers.]  Gentlemen,  I 
i  suppose  I  am  the  first  man  in  Livingston  county 
that  dared  to  declare  himself  a  Radical,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  charges  upon  which  General 
Guitar  arrested  me.  [Cheers  and  laughter.] 
Why,  gentlemen,  I  was  arrested  for  singing 


21 


“  Eally  round  the  flag  ” — in  an  incendiary  man¬ 
ner!  [Laughter  and  cheers.]  The  truth  is  I  sang 
with  the  spirit  and  understanding  also.  [Laugh¬ 
ter.  A  voice — “Parson,  sing  it  now.]  But  I 
did  not  stop  singing  “  Eally  round  the  flag,”  oh, 
no,  not  by  any  means;  but  I  sang  them  “  John 
Brown  ”  also.  [Eenewed  laughter.]  1  told  them 
every  time  you  hit  me,  so  much  stronger  will  I 
be,  and  I  told  Colonel  Broadhead,  “if  your 
are  going  to  give  me  free  passes  to  St.  Louis 
why  not  keep  me  there  all  the  time,  as  I  shall 
sing  “John  Brown.”  [Laughter.]  I  told  him 
I  would  repeat  again  and  again  all  that  I  had 
uttered  about  Governor  Gamble  and  the  Conven¬ 
tion  ;  and  he  had  better  keep  me  there,  for  I 
would  sing  ten  times  as  much  when  I  get  out. 
They  were  willing  to  flog  me  and  let  me  go,  but 
I  told  them  that  never  would  I  go  out  until  vin- 
oated  fully.  And,  gentlemen,  they  d'id  it!  And 
General  Schofield  said  he  who  arrested  me 
should  be  punished;  he  did  that,  too,  gentle¬ 
men — he  made  him  a  provost  marshal!  [Laughter 
and  cheers.]  *"  * 

While  1  was  under  arrest  I  had  a  little  bayo¬ 
net  exercise.  They  threw  me  in  among  the  dirty, 
lousy  bushwhackers,  in  a  miserable  pen.  There 
were  there  some  pretty  large  graybacks,  let  me 
tell  you.  I  was  not  willing  to  go  in  there  when 
I  surveyed  the  hole.  The  guard  oame  to  us  and 
said,  “Now  seek  your  holes.”  I  replied,  “I 
will  not  enter  the  room.  Never,  never  will  Hie 
down  with  bushwhackers  and  lice.”  [Prolonged 
cheers  and  laughter.]  “I  will  submit  to  no  more, 
sir  !  You  can  put  your  bayonet  through  me  or 
put  a  bullet  into  me,  but  you  will  never  put 
me  in  there  alive.”  [Cheers.]  He  replied,  “  I 
don’t  want  to  hurt  you.”  He  called  the  corpo¬ 
ral  of  the  guard,  who  appealed  to  General 
Guitar,  and  that  General  condescended  to  allow 
me  to  sleep  out  of  the  hole  because  I  would  not 
go  into  the  room.  I  was  denied  the  privilege  of 
a  parole  of  one  hour,  while  I  went  home  to  visit 
my  family  in  affliction,  and  obtain  a  clean  shirt, 
[sensation,]  while  the  vilest  of  rebels  were  al¬ 
lowed  to  walk  about  on  parole.  [A  voice — “Jeff. 
Thompson  will  be  out  on  parole.”]  Yes,  he 
could  get  a  parole.  He  is  as  miserable  a  cut¬ 
throat  as  God  ever  let  live.  Captain  Eeed 
was  waited  upon  by  a  delegation  of  ladies,  who 
asked  what  we  had  done — what  we  were  arrested 
for.  He  said  to  them,  “  You  come  in  a 
revolutionary  spirit.”  These  ladies  bore 
with  them  the  flag  of  our  country, 
and  I  expect  “that’s  what  the  matter  with  you 
Eadicals.”  You  will  uphold  the  old  flag,  and 
are,  therefore,  Jacobins.  [Loud  cheers.]  Eeed 
said  to  the  ladies,  “Eoll  up  that  flag,  take  off 
those  badges  and  go  home.”  And  what  was  the 
answer?  One  of  the  ladies  said — “Is  the  flag 
particularly  distasteful  to  you,  sir  ?”  He  re¬ 
plied  :  “Go  home,  you  are  rebels.”  Gentlemen 
had  I  been  near  I  would  have  knocked  his  teeth 
down  his  throat.  [Laughter  and  cheers.]  The 
ladies  informed  Captain  Eeed  that  the  flag  never 
should  be  rolled  up  until  their  blood  ceased  to 
flow  in  their  veins.  [Here  a  gentleman  called 
for.  three  cheers  for  the  ladies  of  Livingston, 
which  was  responded  to  most  enthusiastically.] 
Gentlemen,  it  costs  something  to  be  heroic  in 
Livingston  county,  because  Copperheads  are 
thicker  than  the  lice  in  Egypt.  But  I  was 
oarried  away  captive  to  Babylon.  [Loud  laugh- 
terj  I  got  out. 

Woolfolk,  McEerren  &  Co.  had  a  great  jubilee. 
It  was  on  the  8th  of  August,  and 
the  Copperheads  had  a  long  list  of 
•peakers,  including  Glover,  Woolfolk  and 


Henderson.  The  Eadicals  came,  and  the  Cop¬ 
perheads  came.  The  rebels  came  also.  I  met 
one  of  the  old  chaps  on  the  street  and  heard 
him  ask  who  were  to  be  the  speakers.  Another 
replied  that  he  heaerd ,  that  as  the  speakers  had 
not  come,  an  abolition  preacher  would  speak. 
The  other  said  “the  Lord  deliver  us  from  such 
men.”  I  stepped  up  to  him  and  said,  “  Behold, 
1  am  the  man  1”  [Laughter.]  You  say  you  are 
not  that  kind  of  a  Union  man.  Do  you  not 
know  what  I  mean  by  a  Eadical  ?  1  am  in  for 
every  measure  to  drive  traitors  from  the  land. 
I  understand  you  are  a  rebel — a  man  that 
would  feed  bushwhackers.  I  asked,  “would  you 
not  feed  rebels;  would  you  not  refuse  to  feed 
government  soldiers?”  Well,  he  didn’t  know 
that  he  would  trouble  himself  oneway  or  another. 
Now,  said  I,  “Sir,  you  are  an  old  man ;  the 
best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  get  out  of  the  reach 
of  my  arm  while  you  can,  and  he  left.  [Cheers.] 
This  is  the  specimen  of  Union  men  we  have  up 
in  Livingston.  These  are  the  men  that  burn 
bridges,  throw  trains  off  the  track,  feed  bush¬ 
whackers,  harbor  thieving  marauders  ;  they  are 
the  law  and  order  men.  [Eenewed  laughter.] 

The  speaker  referred  to  meetings  heldinChili- 
cothe  in  1855,  when  they  recommended  that  all 
Abolitionists  be  driven  out,  and  referred  to  the 
change  that  had  taken  place  in  the  last  fewyears. 
[Here  the  parson  was  asked  to  give  his  experi¬ 
ence  at  another  meeting  held  in  that  county.  1 
Well  I  will  speak  of  it.  Every  character  ol 
rebels  were  there,  and  they  were  addressed  by 
that  infamous  rebel  Woolfolk,  and  that  no  bet¬ 
ter  rebel  McFerren ;  they  are  both  rebels,  and  I 
tell  you  any  man  that  will  indorse  them  is 
just  as  great  a  traitor  as  they.  [Tre¬ 
mendous  applause.]  Yes,  and  more,  the 
men  who  appointed  them  are  not  excepted. 
[Loud  cheers.]  I  once  pronounced  Woolfolk 
n  infamous  liar,  and  I  fearlessly  say  now  that 
any  man  who  denounces  the  Eadical  party  as 
revolutionists  and  outlaws,  I  care  not  where  he 
comes  from,  is  a  liar,  [a  voice — “amen,”]  I 
have  told  these  rebels  this  frequently;  I  told 
them  I  was  not  a  fighting  man,  but  if  some 
fighting  had  to  be  done,  if  there  was  a  genteel 
rebel  whose  life  was  worth  as  much  as  a  nigger’s 
I  would  meet  him  with  any  weapon,  at  any 
place.  [Cheers.]  I  have  got  to  fight  the  devil 
on  Sundays  and  these  Copperheads  on  week 
days  ;  but  if  I  have  got  to  fight,  I  am  determined 
to  fight  like  the  Killkenny  cats.  [Eenewed  laugh 
ter  and  cheers.] 

But  I  must  tell  you  about  the  last  Chillicothe 
meeting,  excuse  me,  I  am  like  the  old  man’s 
prayer,  he  said  he  commenced  in  the  middle  and 
came  out  at  both  ends.  [Cheers.]  When  the 
speakers  did  not  arrive,  I  said  to  a  few  friends, 
let  us  organize  the  meeting.  I  gave  them  a  few 
words  of  exhortation  and  we  passed  resolutions, 
but  shortly  in  come  their  old  chairman,  Eoder- 
ick  Mattison  ;  he  said  this  is  an  adjourned 
meeting ;  and  submitted  resolutions  for  adop 
tion  endorsing  McFerran,  the  Convention  and 
Governor  Gamble.  We  called  for  a  discussion 
at  once,  and  the  meeting  got  into  a  general  row, 
Colonel  Hall  here  came  in,  mounted  the  stand 
and  told  his  men  to  keep  order.  Whenever  a 
Union  man  rose  a  bayonet  was  put  in  his  face 
and  he  was  told  to  desist;  I  was  served  so,  and 
had  to  shut  up;  but  no  bayonets  went  to  the 
faces  of  the  Copperheads.  Thus  gentlemen,  vou 
see  we  have  not  only  to  fight  the  devil  and  Cop¬ 
perheads,  but  we  have  to  fight  the  Gamble  Dy¬ 
nasty  with  bayonets.  We  do  not  like  to  come 
in  contact  with  a  military  power  that  is  loyal; 


22 


one  can  chase  a  thousand  Copperheads  and  two 
can  put  two  thousand  to  flight,  because  they  have 
not  got  the  sand  in  their  craws.  [Laughter.] 

A  few  remarks  in  conclusion;  I  did  not 
oome  here  to  speak,  and  I  fear  that  I  might 
have  done  better  to  have  sat  still.  I^iave 
come  here  prepared  to  vote  for  the  most  radical 
or  ultra  resolutions  that  come  before  the  Con¬ 
vention.  [Great  applause.]  I  tell  you,  gentte- 
men,  all  the  responsibility  does  not  rest  upon 
our  State  Administration  for  the  present  state 
of  things.  A  part  rests  upon  the  Administra¬ 
tion  at  Washington.  [Loud  cheers.]  While  I 
voted  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  electioneered  more 
for  him  than  any  other  man— (and  I  am  deter¬ 
mined  to  do  it  again,)  I  have  a  word  of  eondem 
nation  against  Abraham  Lincoln.  [Cheers.]  1 
would  not  indorse  my  father  unless  his  conduct 
was  like  Caesar’s  wife’s — above  suspicion. 
[Cheers,"  When  the  President  removed  Curtis 
he  struck  a  blow  at  freedom  in  this  State  that 
has  almost  prostrated  it  to  the  earth.  [Great 
applause.]  And  had  it  not  been  for  the  courage 
of  the  Radical  party,  freedom  would  have  been 
buried.  Gentlemen,  we  must  send  up  a  voice 
that  will  produce  a  shaking  among;  the  dry 
bones— [renewed  cheering,]  at  Washington.  I 
believe  that  if  we  can  get  into  Abraham’s  bosom 
by  any  means,  we  will  wake  up  the  old  gentle¬ 
man  until  hegets  his  eyes  upon  the  truth,  that 
the  massacre  of  Lawrence  is  the  fruits  of  his 
policy  of  permitting  Governor  Gamble  to  pro¬ 
secute  the  war  after  his  own  style.  If  the  Lawr- 
rence  affair  does  not  open  his  eyes,  I  doubt 
whether  anything  short  of  Almighty  can  open 
them.  [L  Voice — “Did  you  not  get  into  Abra¬ 
ham’s  bosom?]  Yes,  they  gave  me  the  little  office 
of  Provost  Marshal,  no  doubt  to  scare  the  Cop¬ 
perheads  who  came  around  with  faces  long 
enough  to  cut  hay.  [Laughter.]  They  feared 
that  Aoolition  parson  was  going  to  free 
the  niggers.  The  darkies  came  also; 
one  of  them  said  to  me — they  all  knew  me 
as  I  was  the  only  one  who  endeavored  to  care 
for  their  poor  black  fouls— “  Massa,  they  say 
you  are  going  to  free  all  the  niggers.”  “Why,” 
said  I,  “  you  tool, you  are  just  as  free  as  your 
master  ;  get  out  of  here!”  [Laughter  and  cheers.] 
1  said  to  the  slaves,  publicly,  if  you  belong  to  re¬ 
bel  masters,  skedaddle  just  as  fast  as  you  can. 
I  am  in  earnest  in  this  matter  ;  we  want  this 
State  free,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  it  skallbe 
frse.  The  ball  is  in  motion.  The  little  stone 
has  come  out  of  the  mountain  ;  it  is  rolling  on 
and  gathering  moss,  and  1  would  like  to  sing — 
'*  We  are  coming.  Father  Abraham,  six  hundred 
thousand  more.'*  [Cheers.] 

Gentlemen,  we  want  a  new  convention, 
and  we  will  have  it,  and  if  one  of 
our  legislators  dares  to  disobey  our  in¬ 
structions,  we  will  bury  him  so  deep 
Gamble  can’t  reach  him.  [Cheers.]  We 
will  put  him  so  far  below  political  preferment 
that  if  he  was  to  mount  a  sunbeam  and  ride 
down  until  the  sound  of  Gabriel’s  trumpet  is 
heard  he  could  not  reach  it.  [Great  cheering.] 
We  have  a  Copperhead  legislator  in  our  county — 
Gudgel— be  is  a  brother  of  one  who  lied  against 
ma  to  effect  my  arrest— a  miserable,  lying 
scamp.  But  he  has  still  another  brother— the 
best  of  the  family— whose  insides  are  as  black 
as  a  copper  kettle.  He  is  what  is  called  a 
“colored  gem’n.”  [Boistrous  laughter  and 
cheers.]  Row  I  expect  when  the  Legislature 
meets  that  our  Church  Conference  will  be  held 
in  this  city  at  the  same  time.  I  intend  to  do 
»ozn@  lobbying.  I  will  stand  by  that  fellow’s 


i  back  until  he  votes  right,  and  I  was  going  to 
say,  if  he  didn’t,  he  never  would  go  home. 
[Loud  cheers.]  We  will  bring  every  effort  to 
bear  upon  them  until  they  will  have  to  vote  for 
a  new  convention.  We  want  one  to  disfranchise 
the  nbels.  [Cheers.]  I  never  will  stand  vp  and 
\  vote  side  by  side  with  a  rebel ;  I  am  afraid  1  will 
feel  a  peculiar  draw  in  the  arm,  and  then — a 
forward  movement.  [Laughter.]  They  should 
not  vote  again.  We  will  die  before  they  shall 
do  it.  [Loud  cheers.]  "  hey  ought  to  have  no 
vote,  and  they  have  no  right  to  live.  ''Cheers.] 

Gentlemen,  you  feel  deeply  interested  in  this 
matter  as  I  do.  These  men  who  claim  to  be 
J  conservative  peace  men  are  the  worst  disturb- 
i  ers  of  peace  in  the  land  If  they  had  given  us 
immediate  emancipation,  and  the  disfranchise 
ment  of  rebels,  and  submitted  them  to  the  peo 
pie,  there  would  have  been  peace  and  quiet  to 
day  in  Missouri.  They  want  to  get  these  rebels 
now  in  the  army  back  to  vote  against  us.  The 
spirit  is  now  awake  in  the  people  that  will  not 
submit  to  it.  The  Convention  act  is  not  a 
finality;  it  never  will  be.  [Loud  applause.] 
If  we  get  a  new  convention,  we  want  not  only  a 
disfranchisement  of  rebels,  but  to  throw  off  the 
old  trunk  and  carcass  of  slavery  from  our 
statutes. 

Eevise  the  Constitution.  Loyal  men  are  ery 
ing  out,  as  did  Paul,  the  righteous  man,  “  Who 
l  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?” 

1  can  answer — a  neio  Convention.  fLoud  and 
;  prolonged  applause-]  Gentlemen,  I  will  now 
j  join  you  in  “Eally  Eound  the  Flag,  Boys.”  [Be- 
j  newed  cheering.] 

Tne  fighting  parson  struck  up  that  stirring 
national  song,  and  the  whole  assembly  instantly 
caught  the  inspiration  of  the  moment^  as  though 
electrified  by  the  influence  of  his  words;  all 
sprang  to  theii  feet,  and.  amidst  the  waving  of 
small  flags,  hats,  and  handkerchiefs,  the  grand 
melody  of  six  hundred  voices,  fie?b  from  hearts 
1  beating  in  quick  pulsations  to  the  music  of  the 
,  Union,  went  up  to  Heaven.  Such  a  scene  has 
not  been  witnessed  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of 
Epresentatives  for  many  a  day,  and  was  quite  a 
contrast  to  the  gloomy,  death-like  palor  that 
fell  around  those  same  walls  cot  many  months 
:  ago,  when  plotting  traitors  poisoned 
the  atmosphere  of  that  room  with  their 
vile  and  hell-born  treason.  0,  that  Gov= 
ernor  Gamble  could  have  been  a  spectator  of 
that  scene,  or  the  voices  of  the  ioyal  hundreds 
have  reached  the  ears  of  the  Commander  of  the 
Department  of  the  Missouri.  'Jbeir  kDees 
;  would  knock  together,  and  they  would  behold 
in  the  breasts  of- those  whose  voices  joined  in 
that  grand  chorus, 

“Down  with  the  traitor, 

Dp  with  the  stars,” 

the  same  fiery  zeal,  the  same  firm  resolution 
and  unquenchable  Jove  for  freedom  and  civil 
I  liberty  that  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  men  of  *76 

GENERAL  SMITH'S  SPEECH. 

Loud  calls  were  made  for  General  Smith,  of 
Pettis  county,  who  came  forward  and  stated 
that  he  regretted  bis  health  waB  such  that  he 
j  could  not  make  a  speech;  but  he  would  offer  a  few 
remarks.  There  was  notone  in  this  convention 
who  is  a  worse  Radical  on  the  questions  now 
|  agitating  the  people  ot  the  State  than  he  was. 
[Cheers. ^  He  bad  been  denounced  for  years  a* 
a  Eadical  because  he  had  advocated  the  cause  of 
bis  country  in  the  face  ot  slavery  and  every- 
thiDg  else,  and  be  was  encouraged  when  he  saw 
this  targe  assembly  met  together  in  council,  to 


28 


support  the  Radical  movement  fully  and 
heartily.  We  had  a  wily  enemy  to  contend 
against.  We  had  a  party  to  oppose  who  claimed 
they  were  the  law  and  order  party,  and  charged 
that  all  the  bushwhacking,  murdering  and  rob¬ 
bing  had  been  done  by  the  Radicals.  [Cheers 
and:  laughter. 1  We  had  a  State  Government  that 
bad  not  the  confidence  of  the  people;  who  ad¬ 
hered  to  a  Conservative  policy,  refused  to 
recognize  the  negro  a3  fit  to  bear  arms,  and  by 
enlistiug  them  in  the  Stite,  reduce  the  burdens 
of  the  white  man.  It  did  him  good  a  few  days 
ago  to  see  Colonel  Pile  come  up  and 
carry  off  a  number  of  contrabands  to 
St.  Louis,  to  serve  in  the  army  of  the  Union 
to  fight  the  rebels.  This  was  very  distasteful 
to  those  gentlemen  who  like  to  stick  by  the  nig¬ 
ger — [loud  cheers]— and  now  these  conservative 
Gamble  men  are  confiscating  free  negroes  in  the 
interior,  taking  them  up  to  Saline  county  under 
the  pretext  of  building  block  houses,  but  in  fact 
to  return  them  to  their  rebel  masters.  He  could 
not  speak  long,  but  would  take  an  opportunity 
soou  to  visit  sections  of  the  country,  and  he  in¬ 
tended  that  hi3  voice  should  be  heard  until  they 
arrested  him  and  confined  him,  and  that  was  the 
only  way  they  could  stop  him.  [Loud  cheers.] 
It  appeared  to  him  that  the  only  difficulty  exist¬ 
ing  was  the  love  these  conservative  gentlemen 
have  for  the  institution  ot  slavery.  Wipe  itout 
and  our  troubles  would  cease.  [Cheers.]  If  the 
late  Convention  had  passed  a  satisfactory  act  of 
emancipation  to-day  in  Missoui’i  we  would  have 
a  state  of  things"  far  different  to  what  now 
exUte,  But  they  were  disposed  to  hold 
on  to  the  negro,  and  I  told  the  people 
years  ago  that  if  they  g r  t  up  this  war  be¬ 
tween  the  North  and  the  South  instead  of  the 
nigger  being  worth  two  or  three  thousand  dol¬ 
lars,  they  could  have  all  mine  for  three  bits  per 
dozen.  ]  Laughter.]  He  had  some  negroes  who 
run  away  and  when  he  received  a  letter  from  the 
military  commander,  stating  that  he  could  have 
them  if  he  would  send  after  them,  he  paid  no 
attention  to  it.  He  never  sent  for  them,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  he  wanted  the  negro  “  played 
out”  as  soon  as  possible.  [Laughterand  cheers.] 
Another  reason  why  he  did  not  send  for  them 
was,  if  he  had  done  so,  some  rebel  would  send 
for  his.  When  General  Grant  was  in  this  State, 
be  had  advised  him  to  take  every  rebel’s  ne¬ 
groes,  and  nothing  gratified  him  more  than 
when  he  saw  the  negroes  of  rebels  leaving  the 
country,  and  he  must  say  he  was  not  very 
particular  about  those  of  his  friends, 
either.  [Laughter.]  When  a  bill  was  be¬ 
fore  Congress  to  compensate  loyal  owners 
tor.  the  emancipation  of  their  negroes, 
be  called  his  slaves  about  him,  and  in¬ 
formed  them  of  the  proposition.  They  had  often 
expressed  the  wish  that  he  had  been  a  rebel,  so 
that  they  could  be  free.  He  had  informed  them 
that  if  Cougress  did  pass  the  bill  they  should 
have  the  benefit  of  it,  and  he  would  pay  them. 
But  Congress  did  not  pass  the  bill ;  and"  he  was 
glad  of  it,  for  he  had  no  more  right  to  be  com¬ 
pensated  for  his  niggers  than  had  Northern  men 
to  be  paid  for  their  mules  or  horses.  [Loud 
cheers.] 

At  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  a  gentleman 
informed  Mr.  Smith  that  a  Senator  had  informed 
him  that  he  (Mr.  Smith)  had  made  a  claim 
against  the  Government  of  several  thousand 
dollars  for  the  loss  of  bis  negroes.  Mr.  Smith 
stated  he  was  glad  that  the  gentleman  hud  called 
his  attention  to  the  statement,  as  it  afforded  him 
an  opportunity  to  give  it  the  lie.  He  then 


entered  into  a  long  explanation  of  hi* 
claim  in  which  he  showed  that  he  wai 
forced  to  desert  his  plantation  by  the  rebels 
He  left  it  in  charge  of  his  negroes;  the  army 
crime  on,  and  finding  no  owner  in  possession, 
supposed  that  he  was  in  the  rebel  army.  They 
had  quartered  on  his  property,  burnt  fences  for 
fuel,  destroyed  many  acres  of  corn  and  other 
crops,  injured  his  buildiDgs  and  laid  the 
whole  waste.  A  commission  had  been  held  and 
had  reported  upon  his  loss;  and  as  he  had  been 
forced  to  flea  from  home,  stripped  of  everything 
by  the  Union  troops,  he  was  still  loyal  and  felt 
that  he  was  more  entitled  to  compensation  than 
were  the  rebels  who  had  been  paid  for  damages 
done  their  property.  Rebels  had  come  to  him 
and  asked  how  it  was  that,  treated  as  he  had 
been,  he  could  remain  loyal  to  such  a  Govern 
ment,  and  he  had  replied  that  the  Union  sol¬ 
diers  were  hungry  and  cold,  that  they  devoured 
his  crops,  burned  his  fences,  &c.,  because  it 
was  necessary,  and  the  Government  were 
not  to  blame  for  it,  therefore  be 
would  not  condemn  them.  The  explanation  of 
Mr.  Smith  were  received  with  loud  and  pro¬ 
longed  cheers.  He  concluded  by  remarking 
that  there  was  no  excuse  for  this  rebellion.  The 
rebels  have  sold  their  birthrights  to  the  devil, 
and  are  notjentitled  to  participate  in  the  future 
General  Grant  gives  them  but  one  right — the 
right  to  be  damned.  [Laughter.]  But,  gen¬ 
tlemen,  I  will  give  them  two  other  rights — the 
right  to  work  on  roads  and  the  right  to  pay  a 
poll  tax.  [Loud  cheers.]  One  thing  I  have  de~ 

|  termined  upon  is,  that  either  these  iufernal 
scoundrels  shall  be. disfranchised  or  I  must, 
i  [Cheers.]  Never  will  1  vote  with  them,  and  if  I 
were  a  candidate  and  found  that  1  owed  my 
election  to  any  votes  from  infernal  rebels  1 
would  resign. 

The  speaker  took  his  seat  and  three  cheers 
i  and  a  tiger  were  given  for  him.  Loud  calls  were 
made  for  Judge  R.  8.  Hart. 

JUDGE  HAJIT’S  SPEECH. 

Mr.  Hart,  in  response  to  the  call,  staled  that 
!  we  were  in  the  midst  of  a  struggle  the  like  of 
;  which  had  never  takeu  place  before.  As  far  as 
|  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  is  concerned, 

1  it  seemed  to  him  as  though  it  was  badly  caved 
|  in.  The  Mississippi  had  been  opened  by  the 
dauntless  valor  of  our  troops  ;  Tennessee,  Ken¬ 
tucky,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Ala 
bama  and  North  Carolina  have  been  cleared,  or 
partially  cleared,  of  rebels,  and  the  thunders  of 
our  guns  were  now  heard  at  the  gates  of  Charles 
ton.  Let  us  pray  that  that  nest  of  traitors  must, 
soon  succumb  to  the  arms  of  the  Union.  [Loud 
cheers.]  He  applied  these  words  because 
Charleston  was  the  nest  in  which  this  infernal 
rebellion  was  hatched.  He  felt  that  slavery  was 
the  prime  cause  of  this  war,  and  there  was  uot 
a  gentleman  present  who  was  uot  fully  aware 
that  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  wherever  the  rebels 
held  power,  their  cry  was  total  destruction  to 
Union  men.  Had  secession  been  successful  in  St, 
Louis,  there  were  many  men  who  would  swing. 
One  prominent  man  had  said  to  him  in  those  days 
of  excitement,  when  do  you  expect  to  leave  St. 
Louis  ?  He  knew  that  if  his  party  were  success 
ful,  the  Union  men  must  leave.  Those  were  the 
days  when  no  man  knew  who  were  his  friends, 
when  men  had  to  sleep  with  pistols  under  their 
pillows,  and  carry  arms  in  broad  daylight.  Let 
no  man  then  say  that  there  had  been  no  change 
in  the  sentiments  of  the  people.  Tfiis  was  the 
slaveholders’  rebellion,  and  as  the  Scriptures 


24 


say,  “  Wherever  the  carcass  is,  there  will  the 
vultures  assemble,”  so  wherever  slavery  is 
there  will  be  treason  also.  [Cheers.]  Let  us 
revive  in  our  recollection  the  scenes  of  the  past. 
Two  years  ago,  no  man  in  this  State  would  dare 
say  a  word  against  slavery;  but  to-day,  how  dif¬ 
ferent  was  it  ?  By  the  desolated  hearthstones, 
by  the  bones  of  100,000  brave  men  who  had  per¬ 
ished  in  this  war,  we  were  now  free  to  speak  and 
act — free  to  sing  “  John  Brown  ”  in  our  parlors 
in  St.  Louis.  But  we  would  have  no  peace  until 
we  had  wiped  this  institution  entirely  out 
of  the  State.  [Loud  cheers.]  The  Judge 
then  took  up  the  Ordinance  of  Emanci¬ 
pation,  passed  by  the  late  Convention,  and 
read  extracts  from  it,  as  well  as  from  the 
messages  of  Governor  Gamble,  and  in  an  able 
manner  showed  up  the  double  dealing  of  the 
usurping  Governor,  denouncing  and  proving 
beyond  doubt  that  the  ordinance  was  for  the 
p/'oUction  of  the  institution,  instead  of  freeing 
the  slaves.  The  ordinance  was  not  framed  by 
the  friends  of  freedom,  but  by  the  open  advo¬ 
cates  of  slavery ;  the  people  had  no  voice  in  its 
passage,  and  it  was  not  satisfactory  to  him  or 
any  other  free  man.  When  it  was"  passed  why 
had  it  not  been  referred  to  the  people?  Why 
had  they  not  been  permitted  to  vote  for  or 
against  it  ?  Simply  because  they  knew  it  would 
uot  be  indorsed.  It  was  a  very  nice  thing  for 
slaveholders ;  it  freed  them  from  taxes  upon 
their  negroes  for  the  reet  of  their  lives,  and 
freed  none.  He  had  many  objections  to  it,  but 
the  company  it  was  in  was  enough  to  stamp 
it  upon  his  mind  as  a  sham.  [Cheers.]  There 
used  to  be  a  witty  writer  called  Major  Jack 
Downing.  He  tells  a  story  that  is  very  appli¬ 
cable.  A  farmer  had  two  sons,  one  of  which 
was  a  bright  intelligent  boy,  the  other  a  soft, 
simple-minded  youth.  The  farmer  wished  to 
divide  his  property  between  them,  and  he  had 
among  other  property  a  large  herd  of  sheep. 
He  decided  that  the  sharp  boy  should  have  the 
choice  of  the  flocks,  and  the  balance  should  be 
given  to  the  dull  boy.  Among  the  sheep  was  a 
favorite  lamb  that  the  dull  boy  highly  prized. 
The  sharp  boy  collected  all  the  snot-nosed  and 
tag-locks,  and  put  them  in  a  pen  with  this  lamb, 
whose  name  was  “Bob,”  and  asked  the  dull  boy 
which  flock  he  would  choose.  The  simple  son 
looked  at  the  sheep,  he  descried  his  favorite 
lamb  running  to  him,  but  he  exclaimed  :  “O  no, 
Bob,  I  can’t  take  you ;  you  are  my  favorite,  but 
you  have  got  into  a  bad  crowd.”  [Laughter  and 
cheers.]  So  it  was  with  the  ordinance  and  its 
framers.  He  felt  like  saying  to  them,  “there 
are  so  many  snot-noses  among  you,  I  believe  I 
can’t  join  you.”  [Cheers.]  Why,  it  was  a  fact, 
that  every  rebel  and  bushwhacker  was  a  sup¬ 
porter  of  the  ordinance.  He  (MrJS.)  would  not 
be  found  in  that  crowd.  In  this  State  there 
were  but  two  parties,  the  Claybanks  and  the 
Charcoals,  and  there  was  nothing  more  certain 
— not  the  Mississippi  on  its  steadfast  course  to 
the  sea,  the  revolutions  of  the  earth  around  the 
sun — than  that  the  Claybank  party  were  rapidly 
drifting  into  the  arms  of  the  rebels.  [Great 
cheering.]  There  were  many  among  them  like 
that  unfortunate  Bob ; — they  are  among  the 
snotty-noses.  The  speaker  then  referred  to  the 
policy  of  the  war  Democrats,  which  was  with 
the  South.  He  referred  to  the  early  conception 
of  the  rebellion,  and  reviewed  at  length  the  part 
taken  by  the  South,  and  the  apologies  offered  by 
them  for, their  action.  God  did  not  intend  that 
100,000  lives  should  be  sacrificed  in  this  contest 
for  nought.  The  crop  would  be  brought  to  ma¬ 


turity,  and  this  nation  would  come  out  purified 
of  slavery.  There  is  no  salvation  for  slavery. 
These  rebels  in  the  South  had  been  whipped  and 
they  must  admit  it.  [Cheers.]  If  they  were  not 
a  badly  used  up  Confederacy  he  did  not  read 
history  right.  Look  at  old  Virginia,  who 
boasts  that  she  is  the  mother  of  States  and  of 
statesmen.  She  had  not  the  courage  to  pass  her 
secession  ordinance  in  daylight.  She  sneaked 
out  of  the  Union  like  a  cur  dog  with  his  tail  be¬ 
tween  his  legs  between  two  days.  We  had 
sliced  her  State  in  two,  and  trampled  slavery 
in  a  part  of  it  out.  Go  down  to  the  fighting 
State  of  Mississippi.  She  is  left  desolate  ana 
impoverished.  He  had  heard  an  intelligent  officer 
say  of  her,  “She  is  the  damndest  worst  whip¬ 
ped  State  in  the  Confederacy.”  We  would  whip 
them  all  out,  and  if  necessary,  send  a  guard  of 
100,000  niggers  down  there  over  them,  and  send 
sound  Northern  men  to  till  the  soil.  [Great 
cheering.]  That  Methodist  preacher  understood 
the  question.  He  was  a  man  after  his  (Mr.  H.’s) 
own  heart.  He  could  well  understand  the  en¬ 
thusiasm  that  dwelt  in  that  man’s  heart,  and 
that  was  the  enthusiasm  we  want.  [Loud  cheers.] 
He  wished  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  the  necessity  of  defeating  the  schemes 
of  these  Claybanks  and  usurpers  of  power.  We 
must  make  our  legislators  vote  for  a  change  of 
policy,  and  we  could  do  it.  We  fought  and 
beat  the  rebels  at  Boonville,  Pea  Kidge,  Ereder- 
icktown  and  Wilson’s  Creek,  and  we  could  de¬ 
feat  them  at  home  if  we  united  and  were  deter¬ 
mined.  [Cheers.]  They  must  not  be  allowed 
to  return  home  and  vote.  Compromise  with 
them,  says  some.  He  regretted  that  Governor 
Gamble  was  our  Governor.  [Laughter.]  He 
was  a  mighty  poor  excuse  for  one  ;  but  he  was 
as  sharp  as  a  knife,  and  this  Lawrence  affair 
was  the  only  set  back  he  had  had.  He  resigned 
his  office,  but  he  laved  it  down  as  I  lay  my 
watch  down,  and  watched  it  as  closely  as  though 
he  were  among  thieves.  He  never  to rk  his  eye  off 
it  for  a  single  moment.  He  intended  to  be  Gov¬ 
ernor  until  the  war  closed,  then  declare  it  was 
his  conservative  policy  that  closed  the  war  in 
Missouri,  invite  rebels  from  Price’s  army  back 
to  vote,  keep  power,  and  win  for  himself  a  name 
for  all  time.  [Loud  cheers.]  Then  you  could 
not  shake  him  off,  he  would  be  like  the  man  that 
got  aboard  Sinbad  the  Sailor’s  [loud  applause] 
back.  You  can  defeat  him.  Denounce  him  as  he 
deserves  to  be  denounced  and  you  will  force  him 
to  resign.  He  can  be  forced  to  resign.  I  tell  you, 
gentlemen,  there  is  a  power  in  public  sentiment 
that  he  cannot  disregard.  Let  us  do  our  duty 
faithfully  and  we  will  come  out  of  this  struggle 
free  from  slavery.  This  State  is  destined  to  take 
its  place  with  the  sister  States  of  the  Union  free 
from  the  stain  of  bondage. 

When  the  rebels  recovered  this  State,  let  them 
understand  that  they  will  recover  it  from  us  as 
we  gained  it  from  them,  at  the  point  of  the  bayo¬ 
net  and  amidst  the  thunders  of  cannon. 

The  Judge  took  his  seat  amid  loud  and  pro¬ 
longed  cheering  from  the  vast  assembly  in  at¬ 
tendance,  and  an  adjournment  took  place. 

.  THIRD  DAY’S  SESSION. 

Jefferson  City,  Sept.  2,  1863. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  half¬ 
past  eight,  a.  m. 

On  motion  the  Conventton  was  opened  by 
prayer  by  Kev.  Mr.  Bratten,  of  Chillicothej  who 
offered  up  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  Almighty 
for  the  deliverance  of  the  State  from  the  evifs 
under  which  it  is  suffering.  It  touched  elo- 


25 


quently  on  national  affairs,  and  concluded  by 
asking  for  the  blessing  of  Heaven  upon  the  de¬ 
liberations  of  the  Convention. 

The  chair  was  vacated  by  the  President  and 
taken  by  Vice-President  Smith,  who  announced 
that  he  understood  that  the  Committee  on 
Platform  and  Resolutions  would  be  ready  to  re¬ 
port  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours. 

Mr.  Drake — The  committee  has  appointed  a 
sub-committee  to  draft  resolutions.  They  have 
met,  and  it  is  expected  that  they  will  be  able  to 
report  by  nine  o’clock. 

On  motion,  it  was  decided  that  a  collection  be> 
taken  up  to  raise  funds  for  the  publication  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Convention,  including 
the  speeches  of  Hon.  C.  D.  Drake  and  Hon. 
Judge  Wells;  and  Dr.  Weigel,  of  St.  Louis,  was 
appointed  Treasurer  of  the  fuuds. 

A  collection  was  made  and  the  necessary 
amount  raised. 

John  F.  Hume,  of  St.  Louis,  announced  that 
he  had  received  a  letter 

FROM  HON.  H.  T.  BLOW, 

Which,  with  the  consent  of  the  Convention,  he 
would  read : 

St.  Louis,  August  26,  1863. 

11  John  F.  Hume,  Esq.,  Chairman  Central  Committee: 

“Sir:  In  reply  to  your  note  of  yesterday,  I 
beg  that  you  will  inform  our  friends  that  it  is 
not  in  my  power  to  be  at  the  Convention  next 
Tuesday."  Some  time  since  1  made  arrangements 
to  be  in  New  England  the  1st  of  September,  and 
now  the  health  of  my  family  requiring  it,  I  will 
leave  for  the  East  to-day.  Still  1  would  not  go 
if  I  felt  that  my  presence  was  needed  in  Jeffer¬ 
son  City. 

“  Our  kind  of  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the 
Government,  as  well  as  our  sound,  practical 
views  of  slavery  in  Missouri,  are  so  well  under¬ 
stood,  and  our  delegates  so  entirely  harmo¬ 
nious,  that  I  presume  only  a  few  hours  will  be 
required  to  give  full  expression  to  principles 
which  must  prevail  with  the  Legislature  and  the 
people. 

“1  trust,  however,  that  in  addition  to 
the  objects  named  in  the  call,  the  Conven¬ 
tion  will  investigate  and  bring  before 
the  country  the  miserable  neglect  and 
disgraceful  policy,  which  placed  loyal 
men  in  this  Department  at  the  mercy  of  bush¬ 
whackers  and  assassins.  The  blood  of  the  mur¬ 
dered  patriots  of  Lawrence  demand  this  of  us 
and  the  nation.  Can  such  outrages,  the  fruit  of 
imbecility  and  disloyalty  in  our  State,  disgrace 
the  land  and  shock  the  civilized  world,  and 
our  countrymen  still  remain  indifferent  to 
our  condition  in  Missouri  ?  I  trust  and 
hope  not.  The  future  of  freedom  and  progress 
as  well  as  speedy  repose  in  our  beloved  State, 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  Convention.  God  grant 
that  every  member  will  feel  the  responsibility 
resting  upon  him  and  come  to  the  determina¬ 
tion  so  well  expressed  by  President  Lincoln, 
when  he  said  at  a  meeting  of  Republicans: 

“  Neither  let  us  be  slandered  from  our  duty  by  false 
accusations  against  us,  nor  frightened  from'  it  by 
menaces  of  destruction  to  the  Government  nor  of  dun¬ 
geons  to  ourselves.  Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes 
might,  and  in  that  faith  let  us  to  the  end  dare  to  do  our 
duty  as  we  understand  it. 

“  Yours,  truly, 

“HENRY  T.  BLOW.” 

Vice  President  Smith  said  :  It  has  been  sug¬ 
gested  that  each  county  in  the  State  select  a 
delegate,  and  that  the  delegation  proceed  to 
Washington  in  order  to  approach  President 
Lincoln  and  represent  our  grievances  to  him. 

4 


I  have  every  confidence  in  Mr.  Lincoln;  but  I 
have  no  confidence  in  those  men  who  seem  to 
have  obtained  his  ear.  A  delegate  from  each 
county  would  be  a  pretty  formidable  committee. 
That  there  is  a  necessity  for  this  all  must  admit. 
It  is  almost  impossible  for  us  who  live  on  the 
border  to  express  the  true  condition  of  slavery 
to  the  people  of  other  parts  of  the  State— St. 
Louis  especially.  And  speaking  of  St.  Louis, 
allow  me  to  say  she  deserves  credit  for  standing 
by  my  country  and  your  country,  men  of  the 
border  counties.  [Cheers.]  She  has  done  nobly, 
and  much  of  that  sterling  Union  sentiment  of 
St.  Louis  is  owing  to  the  existence  there  of  what 
these  infernal  rebels  call  the  “lop-eared  Dutch.” 
[Loud  laughter  and  cheers.]  The  Germans. 
God  bless  them,  deserve  a  great  deal  of  credit. 
If  one  hundred  men  were  to  start  from  the  city 
of  St.  Louis  with  documents  in  their  pockets 
and  present  themselves  to  Mr..  Lincoln,  I  think 
Governor  Gamble  and  everybody  else  who  now 
obtain  his  ear  would  be  driven  to  the  wall. 
[Cheers.]  There  will  be  no  trouble  in  selecting 
gentlemen  to  go  to  Washington.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  the  people  of  my  county  will  defray 
the  expenses,  and  I  am*  satisfied  that  other 
counties  will  do  likewise.  I  hope  some  gentle¬ 
man  will  move  a  resolution  for  the  appointment 
of  such  a  committee.  There  is  surely  patriot- 
otism  enough  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  to  de¬ 
fray  the  expenses  of  such  delegates.  [Loud 
cheers. ]. 

Captain  Love,  of  Linn  county,  moved  a  reso¬ 
lution  embodying  the  suggestions  made,  which 
was  discussed  at  length. 

Colonel  Moss  offered  an  amendment,  that  the 
radical  members  of  Congress  of  this  State  be 
requested  to  accompany  said  delegation. 

Mr.  Bonner  suggested  the  propriety  of  appoint¬ 
ing  ao  cmmittee  of  one  from  each  Congressional 
District  to  dralt  an  address  as  the  expression  of 
this  body,  setting  forth  the  mal-administration 
of  the  commander  and  governor  of  this  depart¬ 
ment  and  State,  and  the  feelings  of  the  loyal 
people  of  Missouri.  We  moved  a  resolution  to 
that  effect.  We  were  here  to  perform  an  import¬ 
ant  work  and  we  should  stay  here  until  it  was 
done.  If  we  could  not  accomplish  it  now,  we 
must  wait  until  we  can.  It  would  be  well  to 
have  an  address  submitted  to  this  Convention 
for  its  approval,  and  let  it  go  to  the  President, 
backed  by  the  whole  loyal  people,  and  thunder 
it  into  his  ears  until  he  would  be  compelled  to 
bear. 

Colonel  Moody — Let  me  inquire  if  we  are  not 
endeavoring  to  accomplish  the  same  thing  twice 
over.  The  resolutions  will  embody  all 
that  we  desire,  when  submitted  by  the  commit¬ 
tee.  These  will  be  all  the  address  we  want.  My 
objection  is,  that  it  will  be  making  too  many 
committees,  when  you  have  a  committee  out 
who,  in  a  few  minutes,  will  report  the  very  same 
thing.  They  can  be  adopted,  the  delegates  to 
Washington  appointed,  and  we  can  go  home. 

Captain  Love  objected,  and  insisted  on  his 
resolution. 

Mr.  Bonner — I  think  it  would  be  well  to  submit 
the  draft  of  an  address  to  nine  persons,  because 
if  a  committee  of  one  hundred  or  one  hundred 
and  ten  was  appointed,  it  would  be  too  large. 

Captain  Love — That  is  not  a  substitute  for  my 
motion.  It  is  a  different  thing  entirely. 

Mr.  Vice  President  Smith — A  motion  has  been 
made,  too,  that  a  delegation  of  one  from  each 
district  be  appointed,  to  go  to  Washington  to 
present  our  grievances  to  the  President.  The 
gentleman  from  St.  Louis  wants  a  committee 


26 


i 


appointed  to  prepare  our  address.  I  think  a 
committee  might  be  appointed  who  could  pre¬ 
pare  an  address  after  the  Convention  adjourns, 
to  which  I  would  be  willing  to  attach  my  name. 
Some  further  discussion  took  place,  when  the 
resolution  of  Captain  Love  for  the  appointment 
of  one  delegate  from  each  county,  and  that  of 
Colonel  Moss,  to  request  our  radical  members  ot 
Congress  to  accompany  the  delegation,  were 
adopted. 

Mr.  Johnson,  from  the  Committee  on  Platform 
and  Eesolutions,  presented  the  following : 

The  Committee  empowered  to  select  the  names 
of  suitable  persons  as  candidates  for  the  Su¬ 
preme  Court,  would  present  the  following: 

Henry  A.  Clover,  of  St.  Louis. 

Arnold  Krekel,  of  St.  Charles. 

David  Wagner,  of  Lewis. 

And  respectfully  recommend  their  nomination. 

The  nominations  were  made  by  acclamation, 
there  being  no  dissenting  voice. 

Mr.  Bonner,  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings, 
renewed  his  motion  for  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  to  draft  an  address  to  the  President. 

Colonel  Moss — I  think  we  have  men  here  that 
can  retire  and  draw  up  an  address  to  report  it 
at  the  afternoon  session,  and  have  it  signed  by 
every  member  who  is  sent  along  to  present  it.  I 
do  not  see  the  necessity  of  taking  two  or  three 
days  to  do  it. 

Colonel  Lovelace  made  a  few  remarks, 

When  Mr.  Howland  moved  that  the  matter  be 
allowed  to  stand  over  until  after  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Platform  and  Resolutions, 
which  was  adopted. 

An  intermission  was  had  to  allow  the  various 
country  delegations  to  appoint  the  delegates  to 
Washington. 

On  reassembling,  Judge'TWells  took  the  chair, 
and  the  following  gentlemen  were  reported  as 

THE  DELEGATION  TO  WASHINGTON. 

St.  Louis — Charles  D.  Drake. 

Request  Convention  to  approve — Judge  Hart, 
E.  Pretorius,  J.  C.  Moody  and  James  Taussig. 

Washington — John  T.  Robinson. 

St.  Clair — Alexander  McWilliams. 

Phelps — George  A.  Bezonia. 

Schuyler — D.  H.  Roberts. 

Cape  Girardeau — Colonel  Albert  Jackson. 

Harrison — H.  T.  Combs. 

Miller — T.  J.  Babcake. 

Moniteau — J.  F.  Hume. 

Davies — W.  S.  Brown. 

Lewis — D.  Wagner. 

Cooper — J.  W.  Aseltyne. 

Nodaway — J.  B.  Coover. 

Johnson — B.  Hornsby. 

Dallas — James  Southard. 

Camden — W.  N.  Harrison. 

Linn — L.  H.  Weatherby. 

Gasconade — G.  Hussman. 

Jefferson — John  H.  Morse. 

Clark — James  If.  Crane. 

Franklin — D.  Murphy. 

Crawford — Benj  amin  Harrison . 

Hickory — Thomas  S.  Morgan. 

Scotland — J.  Cone. 

Clinton — B.  F.  Bassett. 

Platte — A.  G.  Brown. 

Montgomery — W.  B.  Adams. 

Adair — Dr.  W.  W.  Gates. 

Green — Colonel  Charles  E.  Moss. 

Macon — Dr.  T.  A.  Eagle. 

Madison — John  B.  Ferrow. 

Carroll — S.  H.  Bealle. 

Andrew— N.  B.  Giddings. 


Cass — John  Christian. 

Lafayette — S.  F.  Currie. 

Knox — Cyrus  Coleman. 

Laclede — Robert  Case. 

Audrain — W.  A.  Paillon. 

Christian — W.  P.  Cox. 

Buchanan — R.  M;  Stewart. 

Monroe — John  H.  Holdsworth. 

St.  Francois — Rufus  Alexander. 

Coldwell — Daniel  Proctor. 

Henry — L.  C.  Marvin. 

Pettis — G.  R.  Smith. 

Chariton — E.  A.  Halcomb. 

;  Marion — J.  T.  R.  Haywood. 

Morgan — B.  F.  Wilson. 

Cole — Dr.  A.  Peabody. 

Iron — James  Lindsay. 

Osage — John  G.  McKnight. 

St.  Charles — Arnold  Krekel. 

Polk — L.  V.  Hollyfield. 

Livingston — T.  B.  Bratten. 

Ralls — Mr.  Lancaster. 

Benton — Casper  Fordnay. 

Holt — A.  G.  Hollister. 

Putnam — W.  A.  Shelton. 

Grundy — N.  F.  Doane. 

Perry — P.  W.  A.  McPike. 

Mercer — C.  M.  Wright. 

Shelby — J.  P.  Benjamin. 

Pike — D.  P.  Dyer. 

Sullivan — B.  F.  Smith. 

Warren — Paul  Schmedt. 

Boone — J.  J.  Blair. 

Ray — Mr.  Hemmery. 

Cooper — John  Hazel  tine. 

Worth — Eli  Smith. 

Atchison— P,  A.  Thompson.  * 

Texas — Dickinson  Crow. 

Howell — Captain  Monks. 

Pulaski — A.  Hamer. 

Dade — John  B.  Clark,  sr. 

Jackson — C.  Carpenter. 

Wayne — Captain  W.  F.  Leeper. 

Colonel  Jameson,  of  St.  Louis,  offered  the  fol¬ 
lowing,  which  was  adopted  after  the  suspension 
of  the  rules  : 

Resolved ,  That  the  unconditional  Union  men 
of  the  State  of  Kansas  be  invited  by  this  Con¬ 
vention  to  send  a  delegation,  in  conjunction 
with  the  delegation  from  Missouri,  to  Washing¬ 
ton  to  wait  on  the  President. 

Mr.  McCoy  offered  a  resolution  which  was 
adopted,  that  all  members  of  this  Convention 
who  may  be  in  attendance  at  the  Union  mass  ' 
I  meeting,  to  be  held  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  on 
the  3d  inst.,  be  considered  as  authorized  dele¬ 
gates  from  Missouri. 

The  following,  offered  by  M.  J.  Mahan, 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions : 

That  we,  the  unconditional  Union  men  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  forbid  the  entrance  of  refugee 
rebels  in  our  midst  from  the  counties  on  the 
Kansas  border,  and  that  the  military  authori¬ 
ties  be  requested  to  banish  all  such  immediately. 

Mr.  Smith,  of  St.  Joe,  stated  that  there  were 
counties  not  represented  in  this  Convention, 
j  and  he  suggested  that  delegates  be  appointed  for 
i  those  counties. 

Colonel  Moss  moved:  First — That  the  dele¬ 
gates  be  authorized  to  appoint  substitutes. 
Second — That  counties  not  represented  be  re¬ 
quested  to  appoint  delegates  to  act  in  concert 
j  with  us. 

Further  discussion  took  place,  when  it  was 
decided  that  inasmuch  as  this  delegation  was 
j  from  the  Convention,  counties  not  repre- 
1  sented  in  the  Convention  could  not  be 


27 


represented.  That  part  of  the  resolution  for  the 
appointment  of  subsfitutes  was  adopted. 

A  gentleman  present  raised  the  qnestion  as  to 
what  action  should  be  taken  by  delegations  from 
counties  for  the  appointment  of  the  delegates 
to  Washington  when  a  county  had  only  one  del¬ 
egate  present.  On  motion  of  Major  Penny,  it 
was  decided  that  where  but  one  delegate  is  pres¬ 
ent  at  this  Convention,  from  a  county,  said  del¬ 
egate  be  considered  the  member  of  the  Washing¬ 
ton  delegation. 

A  resolution  was  offered  by  Mr.  Bush,  author- 
izingthe  Secretary  to  receive  contributions  for 
the  Lawrence  sufferers. 

it  was  adopted,  and  a  considerable  sum  paid 
in,  which,  on  motion,  was  ordered  to  be  sent  to 
the  Governor  of  the  State  and  the  Mayor  of 
Leavenworth. 

Loud  calls  were  here  made  for  a  speech  from 
Ben  Loan,  when  he  presented  himself,  and  stated 
that  he  was  so  worn  out  with  laborious  duties 
that  he  was  unable  to  speak. 

Jndge  Wells  stated  that  he  had  been  named  on 
the  Washington  delegation,  but  on  reflection  he 
recollected  that  his  Court  would  be  in  session, 
and  as  he  made  it  a  point  never  to  be  away 
from  it,  he  trusted  that  if  he  did  not  accompany 
the  delegation  the  gentleman  would  take  these 
circumstances  into  consideration. 

Mr.  Graves,  of  Macon,  offered  the  following, 
which  was  referred : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention,  recurring  to 
the  past  history  of  the  insurrection  and  rebel¬ 
lion  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  hereby  tenders  to 
'  the  German  population  of  the  State  the  heart¬ 
felt  gratitude  and  confidence  of  the  loyal  people 
whom  we  represent,  for  their  undivided  support 
and  defence  of  the  Government  and  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  To  the  Ger¬ 
mans  of  Missouri,  we  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude 
which  we  feel  unable  to  repay,  and  can  only  as¬ 
sure  them  of  the  warm  sympathy  and  kind  re¬ 
gard  which  we  feel  towards  them,  inviting  them 
to  a  more  close  affinity  with  us  in  the  enjoyment 
of  all  the  rights  of  free  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  as  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  and 
laws. 

The  following,  offered  by  Mr.  E.  B.  Thomas, 
of  St.  Louis,  was  also  referred : 

Resolved ,  That  the  successful  management  of 
the  Treasury  Department  of  the  Government, 
'  under  the  policy  of  Secretary  Chase,  which 
has  given  to  the  country  a  permanent 
national  currency,  and  has  sustained  the 
military  arm  of  the  Government,  in  suppressing 
the  rebellion,  deserves  the  approval  and  confi¬ 
dence  of  the  loyal  people  of  the  country,  and 
that  we,  the  loyal  people  of  Missouri,  in  Conven¬ 
tion  assembled,  heartily  indorse  and  approve 
the  same,  and  say :  “  Well  done,  thou  good  and 
faithful  servant.” 

Loud  calls  were  made  for  Colonel  J.  W.  Mc- 
Clurg,  who  came  forward  and  addressed  the 
convention. 

MR.  M’CLURO’S  SPEECH. 

Gentlemen:  I  expect  to  be  able  to  direct  your 
attention  to  an  insidious  foe,  and  to  point  out 
the  clandestine  manner  in  which  he  expects  to 
take  you  captives  and  deprive  you  of 
the  rights  and  immunities  of  a  free 
people.  I  expect  to  show  you  that  lovers 
of  power  and  self-aggrandizement  have 
made  the  attempt,  and  will  continue  their  ef¬ 
forts,  to  entail  a  curse  upon  the  State,  on  you 
and  your. posterity,  in  an  arbitrary  and  despotic 
manner,  in  plain  disregard  and  contempt  of  those 


provisions  of  our  Constitution  which  say  “that 
all  political  power  is  vested  in  and  derived 
from  the  people"  and  “that  the  people  of  this 
State  have  the  inherent,  sole  and  exclusive  right 
of  regulating  the  internal  government  and  po¬ 
lice  thereof,  and’of  altering  and  abolishing  their 
Constitution  and  form  of  government.  ”  I  ex¬ 
pect  to  show  that  the  traitorom  kiss  has  been 
given  with  the  view  of  more  readily  delivering 
you  over  to  your  oppressors.  1  expect  to  show 
you  that  the  late  convention  passed  an  “ordi¬ 
nance  ”  purporting  to  be  “  for  the  emancipation 
of  slaves,”  which  is,  in  plain  language,  nothing 
but  a  cheat ;  a  kiss  on  the  cheek  to  silence  the 
tongue  and  bind  the  limbs;  that  it  is  in  reality 
an  attempt  to  perpetuate  slavery.  1  shall  show  you 
that  the  attempt  is  made  to  fasten  upon  us  this 
ordinance  by  depriving  the  people  of  their  voice. 
I  shall  you  that  a  slave  aristocracy  is  thereby 
encouraged  and  strengthened  in  disregard  of  the 
rights  of  the  poorer  wew-slaveholding  classes, 
by  the  provision  of  the  ordinance  that  “ no 
slaves  in  this  State  shall  be  subject  to  State, 
county  or  municipal  taxes."  I  shall  also  speak 
of  some  other  acts  of  that  memorable 
convention,  especially  of  continuing  a 
Governor  and  other  officers  of  a 
Provisional  Government  in  existence,  when  they 
have  not  been  elected  in  accordance  with  the 
forms  of  the  Constitution,  and  even  in  the  Con¬ 
vention,  were  not  continued  in  office,  beyond 
the  period  at  which  an  election  could  have  been 
held,  by  a  willing  vote  of  a  majority  ot  the 
members. 

In  doing  so,  I  shall  rely  upon  those  provis¬ 
ions  of  our  Constitution  which  say,  “that  the 
people  have  the  right  peaceably  to  assemble  for 
their  common  good,”  and  “that  every  person 
may  freely  speak,  on  any  subject,  being  respon¬ 
sible  for  the  abuse  of  that  liberty.”  I  expect  to 
speak  plainly — I  expect  to  speak  of  the  public- 
acts  of  some  in  power;  but  1  shall  not  use  lan¬ 
guage  encouraging  to  traitors  because  I  am  in 
favor  of  punishing  all  who  give  them  aid  and 
comfort,  males  or  females.  I  shall  speak  of 
those  I  regard  as  traitors  ;  those  who  would  de¬ 
liver  us,  with  tongues  silenced,  to  the  enemy  of 
all  other  interests,  slavery. 

We  are  here  to  speak  and  to  act  fearlessly 
upon  principle.  We  are  here  for  the  purpose  of 
preparing  to  act,  each  one,  our  part  well.  Each 
one  of  us  has  a  duty^  to  perform.  We  are  citi¬ 
zens  of  a  State  that  God  has  decreed  shall  be 
free;  of  a  State  possessing  all  the  material  ele¬ 
ments  of  prosperity  and  happiness.  We  have  a 
duty  to'  perform  to  that  State.  We  are 
patriots,  lovers  of  our  country,  and 
have  a  duty  to  discharge  to  our  whole  country 
and  General  Government.  We  are  philanthro¬ 
pists,  lovers  of  mankind,  and  must  take  into  our 
view  the  whole  human  race.  We  are  placed  in 
the  world  as  the  noblest  work  of  God.  We  see, 
in  all  other  works,  wisdom  and  an  object.  Are 
we,  in  life  and  endowed  with  reasoning  powers, 
merely  to  breathe  out  an  existence  for  self-grati¬ 
fication  ?  If  so,  “let  us  eat,  drink  and  be  merry, 
for  to-morrow  we  die.”  But  we  have  a  nobler 
purpose — to  serve  our  generation— and  in  a  man¬ 
ner  that  our  works  may  live  after  us.  We  pro¬ 
fess  to  be  Christians  and  to  feel  ourselves  ac¬ 
countable  for  our  acts.  We  have  a  Christian 
work;  the  dissemination  of  principles  of  virtue 
and  intelligence,  oft  which  our  free  institutions 
are  founded,  and  the  overthrow  of  human  slave¬ 
ry,  the  basis  of  countless  abomination  - 

In  shaping  our  action  then,  let  us  have  princi¬ 
ples  to  govern  us.  Let  us  not  entrust  our  bark 


28 


to  the  current  without  rudder  or  compass.  We 
must  have  an  unerring  needle  to  point  to  a  north- 
pole,  designated  by  a  fixed  star.  This  political 
demagogue  or  that  slavery  preserving  conserva¬ 
tive  must  not  be  suffered  to  divert  our  eyes  from 
the  true  point.  That  copperhead  must  not  be 
suffered  to  wrap  around  him  so  closely  his  as¬ 
sumed  cloak  of  loyalty,  that  we  shall  be  pre¬ 
vented  from  discovering  his  deformity.  And 
when  radicals  invite  us,  among  whom  1  have  no 
fears  or  dislikes  to  be  classed,  we  must  be  gov¬ 
erned  only  by  reason  and  argument.  Prejudi¬ 
ces  are  to  be  thrown  aside,  selfishness  removed, 
preferences  lost  sight  of  and  principles  adhered 
to. 

What  is  one  of  the  principles  that  should  now 
govern  us  ?  That  which  lies  at  the  very  foun¬ 
dation  of  a  free  government.  Not  the  grat¬ 
ification  of  the  ambition  of  the  few  in  power, 
but  the  good  of  the  majority  ;  the  greatest  good 
to  the  greatest  number.  There  is  no  good  ex¬ 
cept  founded  on  principles  of  justice  and  mor¬ 
ality.  Justice  is  eternal  and  universal.  There¬ 
fore  human  rights  must  be  respected  and  the 
majority  of  the  governed  in  a  free  government, 
must  rule  and  exercise  the  power  that  origin¬ 
ates  with  them.  Morality  must  be  regarded  and 
Christianity  respected  as  “righteousness  exal- 
teth  a  nation  ;  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  peo¬ 
ple.” 

These  are  the  principles  that  should  ever  have 
actuated  us.  But,  until  this  rebellion  to  perpetu¬ 
ate  slavery,  these  principles  could  not  be  ap¬ 
plied  to  slavery  and  acted  upon.  The  powers 
that  ruled  us  were  pro-slavery.  The  expressed 
prejudices  were  pro-slavery.  Free  sentiments 
entertained,  were  suppressed.  Our  laws  were 
pro-slavery.  The  most  philanthropic  could  but 
whisper  to  a  friend  his  dislikes  to  the  institu 
tion  and  was  forced  to  let  it  alone. 

But,  in  the  workings  of  an  overruling  Provi¬ 
dence,  the  time  arrived  when  we  could  speak, 
even  in  Missouri,  off  the  deformities  and  corrup¬ 
tions  of  this  institution.  The  first  gun  fired 
upon  Fort  Sumter,  was  but  the  first  minute-gun 
as  signal  for  mourning  over  the  death  of  slavery. 
We  could  then  speak  of  the  corpse  of  its  past 
life  and  future  hopes.  We  could  consign  the 
bodv  to  its  dishonored  grave  and  speak  of  its 
dee^s  which  would  still  live. 

The  sentiments  of  the  people  in  Missouri  then 
changed  in  their  expression.  They  saw,  from 
undoubted  evidence,  that  slavery  had  caused 
this  rebellion,  and  that  its  deeds  would  live,  in 
the  efforts  of  its  friends,  to  make  the  rebellion 
successful  that  slavery  might  be  revived. 

Surely  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  now  to  labor 
to  prove  that  slavery  is  the  cause  of  this  war.  1 
might  say,  he  who  denies  it  is  either  a  rebel- 
or  a  fool.  Is  it  not  enough  that  the  rebels  of 
the  slave  States  fired  the  first  gun  at  an  unpro¬ 
tected  fort;  that  they  marshaled  largely  their 
forces  before  a  volunteer  was  called  for  to  drive 
back  the  threatening  invaders;  that  they  pre¬ 
pared  for  war  by  the  robbery  of  the  forts  and 
arsenals  of  the  Government ;  that  they  made  no 
other  pretext  than  that  slavery  had  been  inter¬ 
fered  with,  and  demanded  new  guarantees  for  its 
protection  and  future  extension,  when  too  in  the 
official  report  on  the  eighth  census,  May  20th 
1862,  it  is  officially  stated  that  “the  number  of 
slaves  who  escaped  from  their  masters  in  1860  is 
not  only  much  less  in  proportion  than  in  1850, 
but  greatly  reduced  numerically.  That  the  com¬ 
plaint  of  insecurity  to  slave  pfoperty  by  the 
escape  of  this  class  of  persons  into  free  States, 
and  their  recovery  impeded,  whereby  its  value 


has  been  lessened,  is  the  result  of  misapprehen¬ 
sion,  is  evident,  not  only  from  the  small  num¬ 
ber  who  have  been  lost  to  their  owners,  but  from 
the  fact  that  up  to  the  present  time  the  number 
of  escapes  has  been  gradually  diminishing  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  whole  annual  loss  to  the 
Southern  States  from  this  cause,  bears  less  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  amount  of  capital  involved,  than 
the  daily  variations  which  in  ordinary  tines  oc¬ 
cur  in  the  fluctuations  of  State  or  Government 
securities  in  the  city  of  New  York  alone?”  Is 
it  not  enough,  that  rebellion  has  existed  in  all 
the  slave  States  and  in  no  other  ;  that  free  and 
slave  boundaries  have  marked  the  line  of 
loyalty  and  disloyalty ;  that  rivers  and  raoun 
tains  have  not  been  barriers  to  disloyalty,  but 
that  free  territory  alone  has  stopped  it  in  its 
course?  Is  it  not  enough,  that  where  slavery 
has  most  abounded,  there  treason  has  raised 
its  most  formidable  head  ?  Is  it  not  enough, 
to  know  that  the  rebels  have  declared  it  to  be  the 
“chief  corner  stone”  of  a  slave  empire?  Is 
it  not  enough,  to  see  that  every  argument  about 
loyalty  runs  at  once  into  the  slavery  question  ; 
that,  at  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion,  all 
who  claimed  to  be  unconditional  Union  men 
were  denounced  as  Black  Bepublicans  and  Abo¬ 
litionists,  and  that  now  attempts  are  made  to 
prejudice  the  minds  of  the  uninformed  by  the 
cry  of  “negro  equality?  ”  Is  it  not  enough,  to 
know  that  our  President  recognized  in  it  the 
cause  and  power  of  the  rebellion,  and  therefore 
issued  that  proclamation  which  will  immortal¬ 
ize  his  honored  name?  Even  our  Governor  says 
“war  exists  between  the  slaveholding  and  the 
non-slaveholding  States.” 

Being  the  acknowledged  cause  of  the  rebel¬ 
lion,  the  sentiment  of  the  loyal  people  changed 
in  expression.  A  determinatisn  to  eradicate 
the  cause,  on  the  part  of  those  who  would  not 
have  disturbed  the  institution  prior  to  the  re¬ 
bellion,  alarmed  those  whose  affections  were 
placed  on  the  object  to  which  they  were  wedded. 
Therefore,  a  pro  slavery  Governor  convened  a 
pro-slavery  Convention. 

I  need  not  make  a  lengthy  or  labored  argu¬ 
ment  to  prove  the  truth  of  this  declaration.  It 
will  be  apparent  when  we  shall  have  analyzed 
the  so-called  Emancipation  Ordinance.  I  state 
it  as  a  fact,  that  will  not  be  denied,  that  of  the 
ninety-nine  members  of  that  Convention,  elect¬ 
ed  in  February,  1861,  eighty-eight  were  slave¬ 
owners.  If  you  were  asked  how  many  slave¬ 
owners  have  you  kn  own  who  were  not  pro-sl  avery 
in  their  feelings,  you  would  hesitate  long  before 
you  would  name  one.  Indeed,  your  acquaint¬ 
ance  with  slave-owners  no  doubt  causes  you  to 
suspect  the  major  part  of  them  of  disloyalty. 
But  the  proceedings  of  that  convention,  during 
its  various  sessions,  will  satisfy  all  that  it  was 
violently  pro-slavery.  The  most  careless  ob¬ 
server  of  its  actions  is  satisfied  upon  that  point. 
Others,  as  well  as  myself,  asserted,  at  its  last 
session,  that  such  was  the  case;  and  in  no  in¬ 
stance  did  any  member  venture  a  contradic¬ 
tion.  If  the  suggestion  should  be  made  that — 
as  it  was  pro-slavery,  and  therefore  presumed 
to  represent  a  pro-slavery  constituency — it  was 
but  reasonable  to  expect,  from  it,  legislation 
favorable  to  the  institution,  we  have  only  to 
remind  you  of  the  fact  that  the  members  (except 
eleven)  were  elected  twenty-eight  months  prior 
to  the  last  session,  when  the  only  question  be 
fore  the  people  was,  whether  Missouri  should  or 
should  not  remain  in  the  Union,  and  when 
it  was  considered  that  slaveholders  would 
be  the  most  desirable  members,  who 


29 


/ 


i 


entertained  the  opinion  that  their  prop¬ 
erty  could  be  better  preserved  in 
than  out  of,  the  Union.  You  no  doubt  recollect 
the  exciting  debates,  at  the  first  session,  upon 
the  various  resolutions  having  for  their  object 
to  commit  Missouri  to  the  policy  of  the 
slave-holding  States,  by  the  declaration 
that,  in  various  contingencies,  she  would 
be  found  battling  by  their  side.  You  will  read¬ 
ily  call  to  the  mind  the  summary  tabling  of  a 
most  gradual  system  of  emancipation^  at  the 
June  session  of  1862,  by  a  vote  of  52  against  19 : 
a  plan  that  merely  proposed  to  free  slaves  born 
after  January,  1865,  upon  arriving  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  with  compensation  to  loyal 
owners  ;  to  become  an  ordinance,  if  ratified  by 
a  vote  of  the  people  at  regular  fall  election,  1864. 
You  will  recollect  the  excitement  produced  in 
that  Convention  by  the  introduction  of  that  or¬ 
dinance  ;  and  that  one  reason  assigned  for  ta¬ 
bling  it,  was  to  prevent  “  agitation and 
another  was  that  the  question  was  not  before 
the  people  at  the  time  of  the  election  of  the 
members.  The  proceedings  of  the  last  session 
will  show  to  you  that  many  of  those  who  voted 
for  the  ordinance,  which  was  adopted,  declared 
themselves  opposed  in  principle  to  emancipa¬ 
tion,  but  driven  to  support  it  in  self-defense, 
and  to  “settle”  the  question  and  put  an  end  to 
“agitation.” 

With  regard  to  the  truth  of  the  other  portion 
of  my  declaration,  that  “theGovernor,  who  con¬ 
vened  the  Convention,  is  pro-slavery,”  I  pre¬ 
sume  many  of  you  are  already  satisfied.  Do 
you  need  evidence  to  prove  to  you  the  course  of 
the  mighty  Mississippi  ?  Stand  upon  its  bank, 
use  the  eyes  God  has  given  you,  see  the  movement 
of  its  turbid  waters.  While  the  threatening 
cloud  of  rebellious  war  was  gathering  strength 
upon  our  Southern  horizon,  Governor  Gamble 
returned  to  Missouri  from  retirement  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  to  take  part  in  political  strife,  and 
use  his  influence  and  talents  for  whathe  consid¬ 
ered  Missouri’s  best  interests.  His  acts  became 
public;  they  are  public  property.  Let  us  for  a 
moment  see  if  their  tendency  be  not  as  inevit¬ 
ably  Southern  as  the  waters  of  your  mighty 
river.  On  the  12th  day  of  January,  1861,  a 
meeting  was  held  in  St.  Louis,  at  which  Gover¬ 
nor  Gamble  was  one  of  the  orators.  He  was 
there,  I  believe,  according  to  his  own  statement, 
by  invitation.  It  is  presumed  his  sentiments 
were  known  and  that  the  invitation  was  ex¬ 
tended  by  his  friends.  Was  there  an  anti- 
slavery  orator  there?  No.  The  following  reso¬ 
lution,  adopted  at  that  meeting,  shows  the  com¬ 
plexion  of  those  participating  in  it,  and  we 
have  been  informed  of  no  objection  having  been 
made  by  Governor  Gamble,  who  was  an  orator 
on  the  occasion.  The  resolution  reads,  “That 
the  possession  of  slave  property  is  a  constitu¬ 
tional  right  and,  as  such,  ought  to  be  ever 
recognized  by  the  Federal  Government.  That 
if  the  Federal  Government  should  fail  and  refuse 
to  secure  this  right,  the  Southern  States  should 
be  found  united  in  its  defense  in  which 
event  Missouri  will  share  the  common  duties 
and  common  dangers  of  the  South.”  I 
cannot  comment  at  length.  The  ground  over 
which  1  must  necessarily  pass  to-day  is  too 
great.  You  must  carry  the  points  in  your 
minds  and  make  your  own  deductions.  But  1 
hope  you  will  bear  in  mind  the  language  of  that 
resolution:  “  If  the  Federal  Government  fail 
and  refuse  to  secure  ”  slavery  “  the  Southern 
States  should  be  found  united  in  its  defense,” 
and  that  “  Missouri  will  share  the  common 


duties  and  common  dangers  of  the  South” — 
should  refuse  to  secure  a  right  which  had  been 
interfered  with.  A  right  should  be  defended 
which  had  not  been  attacked,  and  Missouri  will 
share  the  duty  of  making  the  detense  or,  in 
other  words,  the  attack,  if  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  should  refuse  to  secure  slavery.  Why 
this  kind  ol  languarge,  in  January,  1861,  when, 
on  March  9th,  of  same  year,  as  the  war  cloud 
thickened,  Governor  Gamble  himself,  as  Chair¬ 
man  of  the  Committee  on  Federal  Relations, 
used  this  language,-  “It  is  a  fact  of  which  we 
can  still  be  proud,  that  thejudicial  tribunals  of 
the  Federal  Government  have  not  failed  in  any 
case  brought  before  them  to  maintain  the  rights 
of  Southern  citizens  and  to  punish  the  violators 
of  those  rights.”  He  also  says  in  same  report, 
“It  is  true  that  heretofore  there  has  been  no 
complaint  against  the  action  of  the  Federal 
Government  in  any  of  its  departments, 
as  designed  to  violate  the  rights  of  the  Southern 
States.”  He  likewise,  in  the  same  report,  says : 

“  There  is  every  reason  to  hope  that  the  party 
wrhich  has  just  assumed  the  reins  of  Govern 
ment,  will  feel  that  the  vast  interests  intrusted 
to  their  management,  are  of  much  greater  im¬ 
portance  than  the  question  whether  slaves  shall 
or  shall  not  be  admitted  into  all  the  Territories 
that  now  belong  to  the  United  States.”  He 
likewise  said  in  the  same  report,  “  Under  the 
state  of  facts  now  existing,  it  would  seem  al-v 
most  needless  to  speak  of  the  propriety  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  engaging  in  a  revolution 
against  the  Federal  Government.”  Why,  under 
this  state  of  facts  admitted  in  March,  was  it 
necessary  in  January  preceding,  to  declare  that 
the  Southern  States  should  unite  in  defense  of 
their  rights  ?  What  could  have  induced  it  but 
the  love  of  the  institution,  mingled  with  those 
fears  arising  from  its  wickedness,  which  have 
for  at  least  the  last  thirty  years,  caused  it  to  re¬ 
coil  sensatively  from  the  touch  ?  What,  but  the 
same  feeling,  could  have  induced  Governor 
Gamble,  on  the  12th  day  of  March,  1861,  but 
three  days  after  he  introduced  into  the  Conven¬ 
tion  the  report  from  which  I  have  just  quoted, 
to  have  voted  in  favor  of  the  following,  intro¬ 
duced  by  Mr.  Douglass,  of  Cooper:  “And,  en¬ 
tertaining  these  views,  we  hereby  declare  that 
Missouri  will  not  countenance  or  aid  a  seced 
ing  State  in  making  war  on  the  Federal  Gov¬ 
ernment,  nor  will  she  countenance  or  aid  the 
General  Government  in  any  attempt  to  coerce 
the  submission  of  a  seceding  State  by  military 
force.”  Governor  Gamble’s  vote  was  in  the 
affirmative,  and  you  may  very  reasonably  there 
expect  to  find  the  name  of'  Colonel  John  F. 
Phillips,  who  attempted  at  the  last  session  to 
defend  Governor  Gamble  against  the  charge  of 
pro-slavery  sympathy.  We  see  then  these  de 
clarations  within  three  days,  from  the  same 
man,  now  Governor :  “  No  design  on  the  part  of 
the  Federal  Government  to  violate  the  rights  of 
the  Southern  States,”  and  “no  countenance  to 
be  given  to  the  General  Government  in  any  at¬ 
tempt  to  coerce  the  submission  of  a  seceding 
State.”  What  was  this  but  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  right  of  secession?  The  denial  of  the 
right  in  tbe  Government  to  exercise  its  power  to 
prevent  its  own  disintegration  ? 

But  this  inconsistency  and  that,  in  our  public 
men,  were  overlooked  or  indeed  forgotten.  We, 
who  had  believed  there  was  virtue  and  intelli¬ 
gence  enough  to  preserve  the  country,  and  had 
been  more  attentive  to  our  own  than  public 
affairs,  did  not  so  closely  as  now,  scrutinize 
the  acts  of  our  public  men.  Our  belief  was  then 


30 


stronger  than  now  in  the  moral  honesty 
of  politicians  ;  indeed,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
in  the  moral  honesty  of  slaveholders.  For  facts 
elicited  by  this  rebellion,  convince  me  that 
nothing  but  the  love  of  slavery  could  have  so 
hardened  the  heart  of  Pharaoh,  even  under  the 
power  of  God,  as  to  cause  him  to  disregard  mir¬ 
acles.  Rivers  turned  to  blood,  frogs  covering 
the  land,  flies  corrupting  it,  hail  smiteing  every 
herb  and  tree,  swarms  of  locusts  covering  the 
earth  so  as  to  darken  the  land,  and  even  the 
death  of  every  first-born  to  cause  a  cry  through¬ 
out  the  land  “such  as  there  was  none  like  it  nor 
shall  be,”  were  soon  forgotten  and  Pharaoh  pur¬ 
sued  the  fugitives,  leading  his  hosts,  with  his 
chosen  chariots  and  horsemen,  blindly  to  fight 
against  the  God  who  could  destroy  them  by  one 
return  of  the  overwhelming  wave.  By  such 
madness  alone,  can  we  account  for  much  that 
has  occurred  during  this  slaveholders  rebellion. 

We  next  notice  Governor  Gamble  on  assum¬ 
ing  the  duties  of  the  oflice  of  Provisional  Gov¬ 
ernor.  He  then  said  “the  choice  thus  made  of 
a  temporary  or  provisonal  Government,  will 
satisfy  all  that  no  countenance  will  be  afforded 
to  any  scheme,  or  to  any  conduct  calculated,  in 
any  degree,  to  interfere  with  the  institution  of  sla¬ 
very  existing  in  the  State.  To  the  very  extent  of 
executive  power  that  institution  will  be  protect¬ 
ed.”  This  language  was  used  after  hostilities  had 
been  begun  by  the  rebellious  slave  States.  Gov¬ 
ernor  Gamble  was  made  Provisional  Governor 
in  July,  1861 ;  was  it  not  enough  for  the  Gover¬ 
nor,  in  obedience  to  his  oath  to  enforce  the  laws, 
to  have  said  he  would  enforce  the  laws  and  pro¬ 
tect  the  institution  ?  What  but  love  of  slavery 
induced  him  to  use  the  uncalled  for  language, 
that  “  no  countenance  will  be  afforded  to  any 
scheme  calculated  to  interfere  with  the  institu¬ 
tion  of  slavery.”  Did  enforcing  the  laws  and 
Constitution  of  the  State  prevent  a  scheme  of 
emancipation  from  being  acted  upon  in  a  legal 
and  Constitutional  manner  ?  No.  The  Consti¬ 
tution  provided  for  emancipation,  with  consent 
of  owners,  or  with  compensation.  The  Consti¬ 
tution  provided  even  how  it  might  be  amended, 
so  that  slaves  might  be  emancipated  without 
consent  of  owners,  or  without  compensation, 
by  two  successive  Legislatures.  It  provided 
that  the  people  could  alter  or  abolish  their  Con¬ 
stitution.  As  we  pass  along,  we  must  not  for¬ 
get  that  this  is  the  same  Governor,  who  said 
“no  countenance  would  be  afforded  to  any 
scheme,”  and  who  convened  the  Convention,  last 
June,  “  to  act  on  a  scheme  of  emancipation.” 
But,  in  the  meantime,  we  have  the  October  ses¬ 
sion,  of  1861,  and  the  June  session,  1862,  of  same 
Convention.  At  the  October  session,  our  Gov¬ 
ernor  was  silent  on  the  slavery  question,  al¬ 
though  some  of  our  Generals  had  found  it  nec¬ 
essary  to  aim  a  blow  at  treason’s  head.  Prior 
to  the  June  session,  1862,  a  generous,  patriotic 
and  philanthropic  President  and  Congress  be¬ 
gan  to  discover  the  relation  between  slavery  and 
the  rebellion,  and  in  good  faith,  made  a  propo¬ 
sition  for  the  compensation  for  slaves  to  any 
State  that  would  adopt  a  system  of  emancipa¬ 
tion.  The  Governor’s  message  of  June  2d,  to 
that  Convention,  in  the  face  of  that  proposition, 
contained  not  one  word  on  the  subject.  To¬ 
wards  the  close  of  that  session,  the  emancipa¬ 
tion  ordinance  which  I  have  spoken  of,  a  most 
liberal  one  to  the  slaveholders,  was  introduced 
and  almost  insultingly  rejected,  by  tabling,  on 
motion  of  W.  A.  Hall,  of  Randolph.  Then,  as 
if  fearing  that  Congress  and  the  President  would 
consider  that  insult  was  implied,  Governor 


Gamble  on  the  13th  day  of  June,  asked  a  respect¬ 
ful  refusal  to  act  on  the  proposition.  You  will 
see  in  his  language,  an  argument  that  could  be 
used  as  an  excuse  for  not  acting.  One  would 
have  supposed  that  that  pro-slavery  body  could 
have  framed  their  own  excuses.^His  language  is 
this,  “  If  the  Convention,  assembled  from  all 
parts  of  the  State,  .  is  satisfied  that  in  the 
present  condition  of  the  public  mind, 
any  proposition  upon  the  subject  of  eman¬ 
cipation  would  produce  excitement  dan¬ 
gerous  to  the  peace  of  the  State,  the  state¬ 
ment  of  that,  as  a  reason  for  declining  to  act 
upon  the  offer  of  the  Government,  ought  to  sat¬ 
isfy  every  person  that  such  declension  is  not  in¬ 
tended  as  any  disrespect  to  any  other  body  or 
office;”  also,  “if,  in  the  understanding  of  the 
Convention,  it  was  not  contemplated  by  the 
people,  when  electing  the  body,  that  it  should 
ever  act  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  State, 
and  therefore  such  action  would  be  improper, 
there  can  be  no  objection  to  assigning  that  as  a 
reason  for  abstaining  from  action  upon  the  sub¬ 
ject,  and  leaving  it  for  a  different  body  or  an¬ 
other  time.”  He  goes  on  and  says  “in  theory, 
conventions  are  understood  to  possess  all  politi¬ 
cal  power,  but  in  actual  practice  they  confine 
themselves  to  the  measures  upon  which  the  peo¬ 
ple,  at  the  time  of  their  election,  expected  them 
to  act.  When  this  Convention  was  chosen,  (he 
says,)  the  subj ect  before  the  public  mind  was 
the  relation  between  the  State  and  the  Federal 
Government.  The  action  of  the  Convention  (he 
says)  has  been  mainly  addressed  to  the  one  ob¬ 
ject  which  it  was  elected  to  consider,  and  to 
those  which  arose  out  of  it.  When  then  (he  says) 
it  is  asked  to  entertain  a  proposition  which  is  to 
effect  a  radical  change  in  the  social  organiza¬ 
tion  of  the  State,  it  is  well  warranted  in  declining 
to  act  upon  the  proposition,  upon  the  ground  that 
the  people,  in  choosing  the  Convention,  never  in¬ 
tended  or  imagined  that  the  body  would  under¬ 
take  any  social  revolution  wholly  unconnected 
with  the  relations  between  the  State  and  the 
General  Government.  No  person  (he  says)  who 
understands  the  principles  of  our  Government 
would  object  to  such  action,  unless  it  be  one 
who  is  willing  to  disregard  all  principles  to  ac¬ 
complish  a  desired  end.”  What,  I  would  ask, 
but  the  most  deep-rooted  love  of  slave  aristoc¬ 
racy  and  most  inveterate  hatred  of  free  institu¬ 
tions,  could  have  caused  such  an  inconsistency 
as  the  act  of  calling  the  Convention,  “to  act  on 
the  subject  of  emancipation,”  with  the  language 
just  quoted.  Less  than  twelve  months  before 
the  Convention  was  informed  by  this  same  Gov¬ 
ernor  that  it  would  be  improper  to  act  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  if  in  the  understanding 
of  the  Convention  it  was  not  contemplated  by 
the  people  when  electing  the  body,  and  that 
there  could  be  no  objection  to  assigning  that  as 
a  reason  for  abstaining  from  action  upon  the 
subject.  At  the  same  time  the  Convention  was 
informed  by  this  same  .Governor  that  in  actual 
practice  it  should  confine  itself  to  the  measures 
upon  which  the  people,  at  the  time  of  election, 
expected  them  to  act.:At  the  same  time,!the!Ccn- 
vention  was  informed  by  this  same  Governor, 
that  emancipation  was  not  a  measure  which  it 
was  elected  to  consider.  At  the  same  time,  the 
Convention  was  informed  by  this  same  Gov¬ 
ernor,  that  it  was  well  warranted  in  declining 
to  act  upon  emancipation  upon  the  ground  that 
{;he  people,  in  choosing  it,  never  imagined  that 
it  would  act  upon  that  subject.  At  the  same  time 
the  Convention  was  informed  by  this  same  Gov¬ 
ernor,  that  no  person  who  understands  theprin- 


31 


eiples  of  our  Government  would  object  to  such 
declension  to  act  on  the  subject  of  emancipation, 
unless  it  be  one  willing  to  disregard  all  princi¬ 
ples  to  accomplish  a  desired  end.  This  infor¬ 
mation,  I  say,  was  given  by  Governor  Gamble, 
and  in  less  than  twelve  months  thereafter  he 
called  together  the  same  Convention  to  act  upon 
the  same  subject  of  emancipation.  He  not  only 
called  the  Convention,  but  he  took  his  seat  as  a 
member,  which  he  had  not  done  at  the  two  ses¬ 
sions  next  preceeding  the  last,  and  was  one — 
the  chairman — of  the  Emancipation  Committee. 
May  we  not  apply  to  him  his  own  language, 
knowing  he  does  understand  the  principles  of 
our  Government,  and  say,  he  would  not  so  act 
unless  he  be  one  who  is  willing  to  disregard  all 
principles  to  accomplish  a  desired  end  ?  He 
must  likewise  have  considered  that  the  majority 
of  that  Convention  did  not  understand  the 
principles  of  our  Government  or  were  willing  to 
disregard  all  principles.  I  think  we  shall  show, 
before  we  shall  have  finished,  that  the  principles 
of  our  Government  were  disregarded,  for  some 
end,  when  the  very  foundation  principle  of  our 
Government,  popular  sovereignty,  was  disre¬ 
garded.  What  was  the  urgent  necessity  for  ac¬ 
tion  on  the  subject  of  emancipation,  when  we 
have  in  existence  a  Legislature,  having  the  same 
subject  under  consideration,  which  will  meet 
in  November  next ;  when,  too,  the  members  of 
that  Legislature  were  elected  when  the  question 
of  emancipation  was  discussed,  and  when  it 
was  contemplated  by  the  people  that  it  would 
act  upon  it  ?  Perhaps  that  Legislature  does  not 
possess  brains  enough,  or  perhaps  they  might 
exercise  their  principles  in  accomplishing  a  de¬ 
sired  end.  Governor  Gamble  did  not  inform 
us.  It  is  true  the  Legislature  could  not  remove 
constitutional  impediments,  but  they  could  have 
called  a  new  convention,  and  expressed  a  desire  j 
for  an  emancipation  ordinance  ;  and  members 
could  have  been  elected  by  the  sovereign  peo¬ 
ple  upon  that  question,  who  could  have  reflected 
their  will  more  correctly  than  a  body  elected 
twenty-eight  months  beforo,  when  it  was  not,  to 
use  the  Governor’s  language,  imagined  the  sub¬ 
ject  would  be  acted  upon.  Perhaps  there  are  too 
many  emancipationists  in  that  Legislature  to 
suit  the  Governor  or  a  pro-slavery  convention. 
Perhaps  the  expression  of  the  people  last  No¬ 
vember,  at  the  polls,  was  a  little  too  radical  for 
negro-worshippers. 

What  has  been  said  will,  I  think,  satisfy  you 
that  the  object  was  to  withdraw  the  subject  from 
the  Legislature  elected  by  the  people,  who  were 
becomingjanti-slavery,  and  to  have  indisposed  of 
by  a  body  that  no  one  has  denied  was  pro-slavery, 
and  which  Governor  Gamble  knew  had,  in  the 
exultant  language  of  the  emancipation  paper, 
Republican ,  “  killed  emancipation  at  the  first 
pop,” 

From  what  has  been  said,  you  have  made  up 
your  minds  that  the  convention  was  not  only 
pro-slavery,  but  that  the  Governor  who  called 
it  together  is  pro-slavery.  If  you  do  not,  I  think 
an  examination  of  the  result  of  their  labors 
will  convince  you. 

But  before  I  present  to  your  eyes  the  ordi¬ 
nance  that  was  brought  forth,  1  would  ask  what 
kind  of  an  ordinance  you  would  expect  from 
such  hands  ?  It  there  be  a  man  that  can,  in  sin¬ 
cerity,  say  he  would  have  looked  for  an  ordi¬ 
nance  to  hasten  the  abolishment  of  slavery,  1 
would  like  to  see  him.  Would  you  look  upon 
the  thistle  to  find  the  olive  ?  Can  a  corrupt 
fountain  send  forth  a  pure  stream  i 
Let  us  examine  the  ordinance  itself,  and  see 


whether  it  is  an  attempt,  as  professed,  to  remove 
a  curse,  or,  in  reality,  to  continue  a  curse  to  the 
many  for  the  supposed  benefit  of  the  few.  Let 
us  analyze,  dissect  the  animal  and  see  its  heart. 
Here  it  is:  There  is  more  than  one  black  spot 
on  the  heart.  It  is  very  fair  in  its  external  ap¬ 
pearance,  for  it  seems  to  be  “  an  ordinance  to 
provide  for  certain  amendments  to  the  Constitu¬ 
tion  and  for  emancipation  of  slaves.”  We  read 
it:  “Be  it  ordained  by  the  people  of  the  State 
of  Missouri,  in  Convention  assembled.”  What! 
the  people!  on  the  subject  of  emancipation! 
through  a  body  that  never  imagined  they  would 
be  called  upon  to  act  upon  it !  It  cannot  be ! 
Yes  it  can.  And  we  will  continue:  “the  first 
and  second  clauses  of  the  twenty-sixth  section 
of  the  third  article  of  the  Constitution  are  here¬ 
by  abrogated.”  That  is  very  fair.  The  Gene¬ 
ral  Assembly  will  then  have  power  to  pass  laws 
for  the  emancipation  of  slaves  without  consent 
of  owners  or  without  paying  owners,  before 
emancipation,  a  full  equivalent  for  slaves  eman¬ 
cipated.  The  Convention  is  certainly  in  earn¬ 
est.  Let  us  go  on.  “  Section  2.  That  slavery 
and  involuntary  servitude,  except  for  the  pun 
ishment  of  crime,  shall  cease  to  exist  in  Mis¬ 
souri  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1870 ;  and  all 
slaves  within  the  State,  at  that  day,  are  hereby 
declared  to  be  free;”  that  is  glorious,  an  honor 
to  the  hearts  that  were  instrumental  in  inditing 
the  words,  and  worthy  commemoration  of  the 
day  of  the  anniversary  of  our  national  inde¬ 
pendence,  although  we  would  have  preferred  the 
fourth  day  of  July,  1863.  But  bravo !  for  a  pro¬ 
slavery  Convention !  Slavery  and  involuntary 
servitude  to  cease  the  fourth  day  ot  July,  1870 ! 
That  is  so  gratifying  wre  must  hurry  on  to  enjoy 
all  of  it!  Bead,  “provided,  however,”  pro¬ 
vided  !  shall  be  free,  provided  !  WThat  can  that 
mean  ?  provided  the  slaves  run  away  ?  I  begin 
to  have  some  fears.  We  must  look,  “  provided, 
however,  that  all  persons  emancipated  by  this 
ordinance  shall  remain  under  the  control  and 
be  subject  to  the  authority  of  their  late  owners, 
representatives  and  assigns,  as  servants,”  let 
us  see;  this  “provided”  is  a  singular  word. 
All  persons  emancipated  shall  remain  under  the 
control  of  owners  and  assigns!  that  is,  all  per¬ 
sons  emancipated  are  not  emancipated!  In 
other  words,  all  slaves  are  declared  to  be  free, 
provided  they  shall  not  be  free,  but  shall  remain 
under  the  authority  of  owners  and  assigns.  Let 
us  read  on,  and  see  if  we  are  mistaken,  “  as 
servants,  during  the  following  periods,  to-wit: 
Those  over  forty  years  of  age,  for  and  during 
their  lives.”  Let  us  see  how  this  is.  “  All 
slaves  are  hereby  declared  to  be  free,  provided 
those  over  forty  years  of  age,  on  the  fourth  day 
July,  1870,  shall  remain  under  the  control  of 
their  owners  during  their  lives!”  Well, 
that  is  the  plainest  proposition  yet.  They 
certainly  will  be  free  so  far  as  our  acts  can 
control  them,  at  the  termination  of 
their  lives.  This  is  a  very  humane  provision 
and  worthy  the  minds  that  conceived  it  and,  as 
the  slaves  are  readily  informed  of  all  that  tran¬ 
spires,  very  consoling  to  those,  who  shall  bo  re¬ 
quired  to  serve  but  seven  years  longer  to  know 
that  then  it  will  be  necessary  to  serve  only  the 
remainder  of  their  lives  !  That  is,  I  presume, 
upon  the  familiar  principle,  that  one  good  turn 
deserves  another  ;  having  served  forty  years, 
they  should  serve  forty  years  longer.  But  we 
were  told,  in  the  convention  by  Governor  Gam¬ 
ble,  that  it  was  humanity  to  provide  for  them 
in  old  age.  We  will  therefore  examine  the  or¬ 
dinance  a  little  further,  and  if  we  discover  any 


humane  feature,  we  may  think  a  chance  feeling 
©f  humanity  suggested  this  one.  We  read  “those 
under  twelve  years  of  age,  until  they  arrive  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three  years  That  is  they 
shall  be  free  the  4th  day  of  July,  1870,  pro¬ 
vided  they  shall  remain  under  the  control  ot 
owners  until  they  become  twenty-three  years  of 
age.  A  slave  one  day  younger  than  twelve 
years  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1870,  remains  in 
servitude  until  arriving  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three.  Where  is  the  humanity  ?  Is  it  humanity 
to  support  that  slave  between  the  ages  of  twen¬ 
ty-one  and  twenty-three  years  ?  Can  they  not 
Eupport  themselves  at  twenty-one?  Do  they  not 
do  so  from  eight  ?  If  they  cannot,  why  is  our 
present  statute  law  on  the  subject  of  emancipa¬ 
tion,  that  “where  a  slave,  being  a  male,  shall 
be  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years ;  or,  being 
a  female,  shall  be  under  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,”  the  person,  emancipating  such  slave 
shall  be  held  to  support  and  maintain  him  or 
her  ?  Why,  the  age  of  twenty-three  named 
from  humanity,  instead  of  eighteen  and  twenty- 
one  ?  Let  us  see  further.  Eead  “and  those  of 
all  other  ages,  until  the  fourth  day  of  July, 
1876.  The  slave  twelve  years  of  age  on  that 
day,  4th  of  July,  1870,  is  free,  but  is  not  free 
until  he  shall  have  served  six  years,  until  the 
4th  of  July,  1876.  The  one  so  unfortunate  as  to 
have  been  born  one  day  before,  must  serve  sev¬ 
en  years  longer  than  the  other,  just  because  he 
had  no  business  to  have  been  born  so  soon. 
There  may  be  some  humanity  there,  but  I  can’t 
see  it.  I  should  have  said  also,  a  moment  since, 
that,  our  emancipation  law  was  framed  by  those 
who  believed  slaves  could  maintain  themselves 
until  the  age  of  forty-five  years,  and  who  has 
not  seen  them,  as  a  general  thing  do  so  until  old 
age  has  removed  them  to  their  graves  ?  We  will 
read  on.  “The  persons,  or  their  legal  rep¬ 
resentations,  who,  up  to  the  moment  of  emanci¬ 
pation,  were  the  owners  of  the  slaves  thereby 
freed,  shall,  during  the  period  for 
which  the  service  of  such  freed  men  are 
reserved  to  them,  have  the  same  authority 
and  control  over  the  said  freed  men, 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  possession  and 
service  of  the  same  that  are  now  held  absolutely 
by  the  master  in  respect  of  his  slave.”  Was 
there  ever  the  same  number  of  words  placed  to¬ 
gether  with  a  greater  attempt  to  deceive  ?  But 
.the  poison  can  be  discovered,  though  the  at¬ 
tempt  is  made  to  conceal  it  in  a  basket  of 
flowers.  The  owners  of  the  slaves  freed  (or 
rather  not  freed)  shall  have  the  same  authority 
and  control  over  said  freed  (but  not  freed)  men, 
to  enforce  service,  that  are  now  held  absolutely 
by  the  master  in  respect  of  his  slave  !  In  the 
names  of  common  sense  and  of  humanity,  I  ask 
what  is  the  difference  between  a  slave  and  one 
from  whom  service  is  enforced  by  the  same  au¬ 
thority  and  control  that  the  master  holds  abso¬ 
lutely  over  his  slave.  Possession  is  secured); 
service  is  secured.  Is  it  not  a  play  of  words 
intended  to  deceive  ?  The  taking  away  the 
harsher  term,  slave,  because  supposed  to  be 
more  repulsive,  and  substituting  the  milder 
term,  servant,  while  the  rigors  of  the  law,  the 
usages  and  customs  for  enforcing  obedience  and 
service  remain  in  full  force?  The  slave  will 
know  no  difference.  Ilis  bed  may  remain  as 
hard  as  before,  his  bread  as  coarse,  his  labor  as 
constant,  his  task-master  as  exacting.  Will 
he  care  or  know  whether  he  is  called 
a  slave  or  a  servant?  How  ridiculous! 
or,  indeed,  how  insulting  to  an  intel¬ 
ligent  people !  Why  could  not  the  plain  mean¬ 


ing  be  given  in  plain,  manly,  honest  language  ? 
Why  say  slaves  shall  be  no  longer  enchain^j.  in 
slavery,  but  shall,  with  no  greater  privileges, 
be  confined  to  servitude?  Why  say  slavery 
shall  cease  in  1870,  when  in  fact  it  will  not  cease; 
for  the  same  persons  will  be  forced,  under  com¬ 
pulsory  laws  and  customs,  to  perform  service 
for  the  further  periods  of  six,  eleven,  forty  or 
more  years  ?  Where  is  the  humanity  ?  And 
where  the  morality  in  publishing  a  lie  to  the 
world  ?  Slavery  shall  cease,  but  compulsion  to 
labor,  without  compensation  as  per  existing 
laws,  shall  continue.  A  prisoner  at  work  on 
fortifications  is  consoled  by  being  told  he  is  no 
longer  a  prisoner,  but  merely  required  to  work 
under  the  penalty  of  the  lash  or  bayonet  the 
same  as  before.  Why  is  the  palpable  attempt  at 
deception,  in  beginning  section  second  in  the 
language  “involuntary  servitude  shall  cease  4th 
July,  1870,”  when  it  is,  in  same  section,  pro¬ 
vided  that  the  “services  are  reserved  to  the 
owners,”  and  “authority”  continued  to  “secure 
possession?”  Is  here  not  an  opiate  to  lull  to 
sleep  the  unsuspecting  ?  “The  owners  shall 
have  the  same  authority  to  secure  possession  and 
service  now  held  by  the  master  in  respect  of  his 
slave.”  Let  us  see  what  “humanity”  is  here. 
We  find  existing  statute  laws  as  authority.  We 
find  an  owner  shall  not  permit  his  slave  to  go  at 
large,  hiring  his  own  time  or  to  hire  himself 
within  the  State,  and  it  is  made  the  duty[of  sher¬ 
iffs  to  make  arrests  and  commit  to  jail  in  suth 
cases,  and  provision  is  made  for  sale  in  case  of 
an  owner  not  appearing.  We  find  punishment 
by  stripes  to  be  inflicted  upon  every  slave  who 
shall  conceal  any  slave  who  shall  have 
absented  himself  from  the  service  of  his  mas¬ 
ter  or  employer.  We  find  punishment  by  stripes 
to  be  inflicted  on  any  who  shall  go  from  the  ten¬ 
ements  of  his  master,  or  other  person  with  whom 
he  lives,  without  a  pass.  Also  such  punishment 
for  any  who  may  go  upon  the  plantation  of  an¬ 
other  without  permission  in  writing  from  his 
owner  or  overseer.  We  find  that  guns  or  other 
weapons  may  be  seized  when  found  in  posses¬ 
sion  of  a  slave  and  such  slave  shall  receive 
lashes.  We  find  that  insolent  and  insulting  lan¬ 
guage  of  slaves  to  white  persons  shall  be  pun¬ 
ished  with  stripes.  We  find  that  any  master  or 
mistress  or  overseer  who  shall  knowingly  per¬ 
mit  any  slave  of  another  to  remain  on  premises 
above  four  hours  at  any  one  time,  without  con¬ 
sent  of  owner  or  overseer  of  such  slave,  shall 
forfeit  and  pay  a  sum  of  money  for  every  such 
offence.  We  find  that  any  white  person  who 
shall  entertain  any);  slave  without  the  con¬ 
sent  of  his  or  her  owner  or  overseer  shall 
forfeit  a  sum  of  money,  and,  in  such  cases, 
that  a  free  negro  or  mulatto  shall  re¬ 
ceive  lashes.  We  "find  it  the  duty  of  justices 
of  the  Peace  and  Sheriff  to  prevent  unlawful 
meetings  of  slaves  or  free  negroes  and  mulattoes. 
We  find  that  ferrymen,  who  shall  cross  any 
slave  from  this  State  to  the  Mississippi  river, 
without  proper  pass,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  value 
of  slave  and  damages.  We  find  that  command¬ 
ers  or  owners  of  boats  who  shall  transport  a 
slave  out  of  the  State  or  to  any  point  in  the  State, 
shall  forfeit  and  pay  value  of  such  slave  and 
damages.  We  find  that  any  person  who  shall 
buy  of,  sell  to,  or  receive  from  any  slave,  any 
commodity  whatsoever,  without  consent  in 
writing  of  the  master  or  overseer,  shall  forfeit 
four  times  the  value  of  such  commodity  and 
twenty  dollars  in  addition.  We  find  the  term 
“master”  to  include  every  person,  who,  at  the 
time,  shall  have  the  possession  and  control  of  a 


slave,  whether  he  be  owner  or  bailee,  or  have  the 
general  or  special  property  in  his  own  right  or 
in  right  of  another.  We  find  ample  provision 
made  for  the  apprehension  of  those  being  or 
suspected  of  being  runaway  slaves  and  for  their 
return  to  owners  or  sale.  We  find  under  the 
law  rewards  to  be  given  for  arresting  runaway 
slaves,  from  $25  to  $100.  We  find  ample  provi¬ 
sion  made  for  cases  of  insurrection  or 
conspiracy.  We  find  the  crime  of  enticing 
away  a  slave,  to  be  grand  larceny.  These, 
in  addition  to  common  custom,  are  the  humane 
features  of  the  laws  giving  authority  to  secure 
the  possession  of  and  services  from  these  “freed 
men.”  Why  are  these  barriers  to  freedom  not 
removed  from  around  “  freed  men  ?  ”  Why  is 
the  attempt  made  in  this  Ordinance  to  rebuild 
them — to  make  stronger  the  fence  that  had  in 
many  places  been  broken  down?  Why,  when 
this  ordinance  was  adopted  on  the  first  day  of 
July,  1863,  was  it  necessary  for  General  Order 
No."  63  to  be  issued  from  Headquarters  Depart¬ 
ment  of  the  Missouri,  St.  Louis,  July  7th,  1863, 
setting  forth  that  the  functions  of  civil 
officers  are  not  suspended ;  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
civil  officers  to  execute  the  State  laws  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  no  United  States  troops  were 
present ;  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  military  au¬ 
thorities  of  the  United  States  to  abstain  from 
interference  with  the  civil  officers,  and  to  pro¬ 
tect  them  from  violence  while  in  the  discharge 
of  their  duties  ;  that  any  resistance  to  or  inter¬ 
ference  with  civil  officers,  while  in  the  discharge 
of  their  legitimate  duties,  by  officers  or  sol¬ 
diers,  is  a  crime  which  merits  and  will  receive 
the  severest  punishment  ?  Iam  not  objecting 
to  orders  which  will  contribute,  in  the  slightest 
degree,  to  the  restoration  of  law  and  order.  I 
only  ask,  is  it  not  ominous  for  the  order  to 
have  appeared  at  that  particular  time — so  soon 
after  the  passage  of  the  Ordinance,  and  about 
the  time  it  was  so  clearly  intimated  by  the  or¬ 
gan  of  Governor  Gamble,  the  -Republican,  that 
language  about  “the  powers  that  be”  should  be 
in  gentle  tones.  1  say,  in  gentle  tones,  1  will 
give  whatever  influence  I  may  have  for  the  res¬ 
toration  of  law  and  order ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  I  wish  to  see  the  acts  of  Congress  enforc¬ 
ed,  and  the  orders  of  the  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  forces  of  the  United  States  respected,  and 
I  do  not  wish  to  see  our  State  Government  be 
come  a  negro-catching  machine  on  a  grand 
scale. 

We  see  in  the  laws  1  have  alluded  to  “to  se¬ 
cure  possession  and  service”  every  thing  to 
favor  the  most  unrelentless  taskmaster  and  en¬ 
sure  obedience.  Where  is  the  humanity  that 
was  talked  about  ?  I  can’t  see  it.  Is  the  slave 
so  harmless  and  docile  that  he  will  not"fight, 
and  therefore  should  not  be  put  in  the  army  to 
fight  pro-slavery  rebels  ?  Why  then  the  law  to 
prevent  unlawful  meetings,  so-called,  or  from 
going  upon  the  premises  of  another  ?  Are  they 
so  intellectually  inferior  that  they  cannot  be 
elevated  above  the  grade  of  the  brute  creation  ? 
Then  why  laws  the  most  rigid  to  prevent  their 
escape?  The  ox  knoweth  his  master’s  crib,  and 
will  return  to  it.  Why  have  we  laws  to  prevent 
the  education  of  the  slaves  ?  It  was  a  useless 
work  of  legislators,  if  they  be  so  inferior 
they  cannot  be  mentally  and  morally  improved. 
The  only  statute  law  1  find  containing  a  word, 
having  the  slightest  relation  to  humanity  for  the 
slave,  is  that  every  person  who  shall  cruelly  or 
inhumanly  torture,  wound  or  abuse  any  slave, 
shalloon  conviction,  be  punished  by  imprison¬ 
ment  in  a  county  jail,  not  exceeding  one  year, 


or  by  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars, 
or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment.  I  find, 
by  its  side,  a  law  that  requires  the  same  treat¬ 
ment  to  be  extended  to  brutes  :  Every  person 
who  shall  maliciously  and  cruelly  maim,  beat 
or  torture  any  horse,  ox,  or  other  cattle,  shall, 
on  conviction,  be  adjudged  guilty  of  a  misde¬ 
meanor,  and  fined  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars. 

Hut  I  must  pass  on  and  leave  this  humane  part  of 
the  ordinance  and  read  further,  “provided,  how¬ 
ever,  that  after  the  said  4th  day  of  July,  1870,  no 
person,  so  held  to  service,  shall  be  sold  to  a  non¬ 
resident  of,  or  removed  from  the  State  of  Mis¬ 
souri,  by  the  authority  of  his  late  owner  or  his 
legal  representatives.”  Some.more  of  Governor 
Gamble’s  kind  of  humanity  here !  Persons  shall 
be  freed,  provided,  in  first  place,  they  shall  be 
under  control  that  can  enforce  service  and  pro¬ 
vided,  in  second  place  the  persons  so  freed  may 
be  sold,  after  day  of  freedom,  4th  day  of  July, 
1870,  to  a  resident  of  the  State,  or  may  be  re¬ 
moved  to  any  part  of  the  State.  Intelligence 
and  humanity  outraged!  Freed,  but  held  to 
service !  Held  to  service,  but  liable  to  be  sold 
for  term  of  service !  Now  you  see  some  of 
the  comely  features  of  this  ordinance,  which  its 
friends  say  should  settle  the  question.  All  laws 
to  make  slavery  oppressive  called  into  newness 
of  life,  every  facility  afforded  for  arrest  same 
means  of  tyranny*  and  compelling  fullest 
amount  of  labor  to  compensate  for  what  is 
called  loss  of  property  and  the  same  disregard  of 
humanity.  And  here  lies  the  secret  of  the  oppo¬ 
sition  to  the  schemes  of  apprenticeship  pro¬ 
posed  in  the  convention,  and  which  seemed  so 
abhorrent.  Under  apprenticeship  some  princi¬ 
ples  of  humanity  would  have  been  enforced ; 
some  right  would  have  been  given  for  redress 
of  grievances;  some  preparation  would  have 
been  required  of  the  master  for  the  slave,  for 
an  entrance  upon  a  state  of  freedom ;  some  ed¬ 
ucation  and  some  reward  for  his  labor  would 
have  been  required  to  prevent  his  being  thrown 
penniless  and  friendless  upon  the  world  at  ex¬ 
piration  of  his  time ;  some  respect  would  have 
been  paid  to  family  ties,  and  the  nearest  rela¬ 
tions  of  life  not  disregarded.  Is  it  so  under 
this  ordinance?  For  seven  years  the  slaves  can 
be  sold  out  of  the  State;  then  for  six,  eleven, 
forty  or  more,  years  they  can  be  sold  in  the 
State,  at  pleasure  of  owners,  without  regard  to 
any  other  consideration  than  as  to  dollars  and 
cents.  Is  this  such  a  regard  for  human  rights 
and  such  a  system  of  morality  that  Heaven  can 
smile  upon  its  friends?  If  we  would  avert  the 
curse  of  Heaven  we  must  change  it. 

But  we  are  told  this  term  of  service  in  Mis¬ 
souri  is  in  lieu  of  other  compensation  as  jus¬ 
tice  to  owners.  Justice  to  owners  !  to  continue 
a  curse  that  could  cause  the  Angel  of  God  to 
slay  all  the  first  born  of  the  land  in  one  night ! 
Must  additional  numbers  be  yet  borne  to  the  in¬ 
satiable  grave?  As  compensation  is  the  object, 
strength  is  given  to  the  argument  that  all  the 
dollars  and  cents  that  tyranny  can  devise  will 
be  forced  out  of  slavery  by  the  operation  of 
this  ordinance.  We  know  that  slave  labor  in 
Missouri  is  not  profitable.  What  the  object 
then  ?  To  dispose  of  them,  sell  them,  convert 
them  into  money.  What  is  to  be  the  result  of 
that  desire  to  sell  ?  To  find  a  profitable  market 
for  slave-breeding  Missouri.  Whe*e  is  that 
market  to  be  found?  In  the  South.  But,  does 
not  the  President’s  proclamation  of  freedom  in¬ 
terfere?  It  will,  if  the  rebellion  should  not 
suceeed.  Then  says  the  money-lover:  1  must 
aid  in  this  rebellion;  it  must  succeed  ;  for  1  must 


34 


have  a  market  for  my  slaves.  Then  the  words 
of  the  Hon.  W.  A.  Hall  become  true :  “We  will 
resist,  by  all  means  in  our  power,  what  we  con¬ 
sider  encroachments  on  our  rights.”  In  other 
words,  .he  might  have  said .  we  will  become 
rebels. 

By  this  ordinance  the  day  is  removed  when 
our  State  prosperity  is  to  date.  It  will  not  cut 
off  the  hopes  of  the  rebels,  either  in  or  out  of 
the  State,  of  uniting  Missouri  to  a 
slave  confederacy.  The  declaration  of 
an  overwhelming  majority,  before  the  contest 
began,  that  Missouri  would  remain  steadfast  to 
the  Union,  did  not  prevent  their  efforts  to  sepa¬ 
rate  her  from  the  Union.  Neither  will  an  ordi¬ 
nance,  under  the  operation  of  which  not  one 
slave  will  be  free  for  thirteen  years  and  which, 
no  doubt,  efforts  will  be  made  to  repeal  when 
the  rebels,  now  in  arms,  shall  have  returned  to 
vote,  cause  them  to  regard  Missouri  as  a  free 
State,  now  while  the  contest  is  progressing.  The 
rebels  cannot  look  upon  her  as  delivered  over 
to  freemen,  because  slave  marts  are  upon  our 
soil  and  we  are  engaged  in  producing  slaves  for 
other  markets  ;  neither  can  the  freemen  of  other 
States  and  Europe,  in  search  of  homes  that  their 
own  labor  may  enrich  and  not  dishonor,  look  up¬ 
on  her  as  relieved  from  the  grasp  of  the  aristocra¬ 
cy  that  regards  that  wealth  as  the  most  reputa¬ 
ble, that  is  extracted  from  the  sweat  of  others.  The 
contest  has  been  too  long  on  Missouri  soil.  No 
doubtful  position  can  be  now  assumed,  to  de¬ 
ceive.  There  is  too  much  territory  north  and 
west  of  us,  inviting  free  industry  and  but  wait¬ 
ing  to  smile  and  blossom  at  the  touch  of  her 
hand,  for  the  immigrants  from  free  States  and 
Europe  to  turn  in  hither,  while  the  institution 
remains  that  brought  barrenness  to  older  States 
and  has  caused  the  fires  of  war  to  consume  our 
substance  and  turn  our  fair  fields  to  desolation. 
This  product  of  corruption,  this  ordinance, 
attempt  at' double  deception,  will  deceive  no 
one.  We  may  expect  the  rebels  to  infest  the 
land  until  the  subjugation  of  the  rebel  States; 
immigration  to  avoid  us ;  the  exodus  of  the 
blacks  to  continue  as  rapidly  as  possible  under 
the  new  regime;  Kansas  and  other  free  States  to 
become  enriched  ;  Missouri  to  become  desolate 
and  barren,  a  monument  of  the  wickedness  and 
folly  of  human  slavery  ;  a  blighted  spot  in  the 
midst  of  a  fair  field. 

But  this  ordinance  I  must  proceed  with.  We 
should  be  able  to  find  something  that  objections 
cannot  be  made  to.  Its  friends  should  have 
given  it  one  attractive  feature.  Section  3.  “All 
slaves  hereafter  brought  into  this  State,  and  not 
now  belonging  to  citizens  of  this  State,  shall 
thereupon  be  free.”  Well,  I  can’t  object  to  that, 
but  where  is  the  practical  utility  ?  But  few 
slaveholders,  prior  to  the  rebellion,  sought 
homes  in  Missouri,  and  surely  they  will  not 
come  now.  Section  4.  “  All  slaves  removed  by 
consent  of  their  owners  to  any  seceded  State, 
after  the  passage,  by  such  State,  of  an  act  or  or¬ 
dinance  of  secession,  and  hereafter  brought  into 
this  State  by  their  owners,  shall  thereupon  be 
free.”  This  section  is  of  little  practical  good, 
as  slaves  so  removed,  I  presume,  are  free  under 
the  President’s  proclamation  of  freedom.  Sec¬ 
tion  5.  “  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  no 
power  to  pass  laws  to  emancipate  slaves, 
without  the  consent  of  their  owners.”  I 
have  time  to  direct  attention  here  to 
the  point  only,  on  which  I  had  intended 
making  more  lengthy  remarks.  Ask  yourselves 
the  question,  Why  this  palpable  attempt  at  an¬ 
other  deception  ?  Why,  in  section  first,  is  the 


attempt  made  to  put  a  fair  face  on  the  ordinance 
by  abrogating  that  part  of  the  first  clause  of  the 
twenty-sixth  section  of  the  third  article  of  the 
constitution,  which  says:  “  The  General  Assem¬ 
bly  shall  have  no  power  to  pass  laws,  First,  for 
the  emancipation  of  slaves  without  the  consent 
of  the  owners,”  so  as  to  give  to  the  General  As¬ 
sembly  such  power  ?  And  then,  why  is  the  very 
same  power,  towards  the  close  of  the  ordinance, 
taken  away,  in  the  very  same  words,  “The  Gen¬ 
eral  Assembly  shall  have  no  power;”  &c.  Now, 
though  Congress  may  exercise  its  liberality  and 
provide  compensation  for  loyal  ownerg,  the 
General  Assembly  cannot  emancipate  without, 
at  the  same  time,  consent  of  owners;  cannot 
emancipate  slaves  of  rebels  with  compensation 
without  their  consent,  also?  Mr.  Henderson,  by 
the  way,  who  would  be  United  States  Senator, 
at  the  last  session,,  as  a  United  States  Senator, 
asked  an  appropriation  of  twenty  millions  of 
dollars,  as  compensation  to  slave  owners,  that 
Missouri  might  be  made  a  free  State.  He  was  a 
supporter  of  this  ordinance.  Was  he  sincere  in 
asking  the  appropriation  ?  He,  also,  in  his 
speech  of  the  25th  of  June  last,  in  the  Conven¬ 
tion,  used  this  language,  in  addressing  those 
who  oppose  emancipation  in  every  shape,  as  his 
speech  appears  in  the  Republican,  and  no  doubt 
is  from  his  prepared  manuscript,  “To  such  I 
would  say  that  slavery  has  ceased  to  be  of 
pecuniary  value.”  May  we  not  ask,  then, 
on  what  ground  is  this  system  of  inhumanity 
continued,  which  is  blighting  to  the  general 
prosperity  ?  What  has  occurred  since  February 
last,  when  this  Honorable  Senator  informed  Con¬ 
gress  the  slaves  of  Missouri  were  worth  twenty 
million  dollars,  to  depreciate  then  until  they 
are  now  worth  nothing  ?  It  is  m;y  opinion  they 
are  worth  exactly  nothing,  but  I  did  not  look  for 
an  agreement  from  that  quarter.  What  a  useless 
expenditure  also  of  legislative  labor,  in  intro¬ 
ducing,  debating  and  voting  for  the  next,  the 
sixth  and  last  section  of  this  ordinance,  and 
which  was  supported  by  Mr.  Henderson,  Mr. 
Gamble,  Mr.  Breckenridge,  Mr.  Broadhead,  Mr. 
W.  A.  Hall  and  others !  And  what  an  inconsis¬ 
tency  i  when  slaves  are  as  per  Mr.  Henderson, 
worth  nothing  !  Here  it  is,  the  cap  sheaf  of  this 
ordinance,  this  shock  of  straw:  “After  the  pas¬ 
sage  of  this  ordinance,  no  slaves  in  this  State 
shall  be  subject  to  State,  County  or  Municipal 
taxes.”  In  the  former  sections  the  moral  sensi¬ 
bilities  and  intelligence  of  the  world  have  been 
violated,  and  here  is  the  consummation  of  the 
grossest  and  most  palpable  injustice.  In  few 
words,  a  pro-slavery  convention,  b^  its  own 
liberal  vote,  relieved  itself  and  its  slave¬ 
holding  friends  of  a  burden  to  the  amount 
of  taxes  that  should  be  imposed  upon 
their  speqies  of  property,  slaves.  I  cannot 
command  language  to  express  the  Contempt  1 
feel  for  every  man  who  voted  for  that  provision. 
Was  any  act  of  a  public  man  ever  more  selfish, 
if  the  voter  were  a  slaveholder,  or,  if  not, 
more  obsequious  to  the  will  of  slave  aristoc¬ 
racy  ?  But  we  may  be  told  the  selfishness  is 
not  great,  as  the  value  of  slaves  is  much  re¬ 
duced.  Then  the  pusillanimity  is  the  more 
contemptible.  You  would  have  greater  con¬ 
tempt  for  the  highwayman  who  would  disclose 
his  character  for  one  dollar  than  for  one  thous¬ 
and.  But  it  was  strenuously  contended  in  that 
convention,  not  by  Mr.  Henderson,  but  by  other 
pro-slavery  members,  that  an  attempt  to  eman¬ 
cipate  slaves  was  an  attempt  to  rob  a  portion 
of  the  citizens  of  forty  or  fifty  millions  dollars’ 
worth  of  property.  They  must  not  contend  for 


35 


one  object,  that  slavery  has  a  value — and  for 
another  object,  that  it  has  not  a  value.  Con¬ 
sistency  is  a  jewel.  In  1860  the  slave  property 
of  Missouri  was  valued  at  about  fifty  millions 
dollars.  The  State  taxes  on  slaves  paid  into 
the  State  Treasury,  in  1861,  amounted  to  about 
forty  thousand  dollars,  and  in  1862  to  about 
twenty-five  thousand,  some  of  the  counties,  in 
each  year,  not  paying  anything.  The  slaves 
have  usually  been  valued  by  assessors  at  about 
three  hundred  dollars  each.  Under  the  pre¬ 
sumption  that  there  are  80,000  slaves  in  the 
State,  which  is  a  less  number  than  slaveholders 
contended  for  when  asking  compensation  from 
Congress,  the  aggregate  value  would  be  $24,- 
000,000.  At  the  usual  assessment  made  by  the 
State,  before  this  rebellion  to  preserve  slavery, 
of  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent.,  the  aggregate 
amount  of  taxes  ‘that  should  be  paid  on  slaves 
is  $48,000 — this  for  State  purposes  alone,  to  say 
nothing  about  county  and  municipal  taxes. 
The  increased  expenditures  necessary  to  keep 
the  wheels  of  the  State  Government  in  motion, 
since  this  rebellion ;  the  increased  State  debt 
on  which  interest  must  be  paid;  the  increased 
National  debt,  caused  by  this  most  gigantic  war 
to  perpetuate  slavery,  and  the  interest  thereon, 
which  must  be  paid,  of  which  Missouri  must 
pay  her  proportionable  part— all  conspire  to 
make  it?  necessary  to  increase  the  rate  of  taxa¬ 
tion  in  our  State.  Do  we  not  all  expect  taxes 
to  become  so  great  that  they  would  be  consid¬ 
ered  onerous,  except  by  those  who  will  willingly 
bear  any  burdens  in  order  to  transmit  to  their 
posterity  the  blessings  of  a  free  government 
unencumbered?  Is  there  any  species  of  prop¬ 
erty  that  is  not  now  being  taxed  that  the  poor 
man  has?  Is  a  horse  or  a  cow  exempt, 
that  are  necessary  for  the  very  existence  of 
the  wife  and  little  ones  at  home  who  have  been 
deprived  of  the  father  and  protector,  who  has 
been  driven  to  the  army  to  defend  freedom  and 
his  country  from  the  assaults  of  the  very  slave 

fiower  that  has  now  relieved  that  very  property 
rom  taxation  necessary  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
the  very  war  they  themselves  have  brought  upon 
the  country?  There  is  nothing  exempt,  except 
the  very  property  that  has  brought  the  calami¬ 
ties  of  war  upon  us.  Is  the  horse  or  the  cow, 
which  is  so  essential  for  the  very  life  of  the  poor, 
less  liable  to  die  than  the  slave,  that  one  should 
be  taxed  and  the  other  not?  Are  they  less  liable 
to  be  taken  by  the  unscrupulous  marauders?  Is 
not  every  other  species  of  property  taxed  than 
slaves?  Is  merchandize  not  taxed  ?  Are  prom¬ 
issory  notes  not  taxed?  Is  money  not  taxed? 
Are  the  salaries  of  clerks  not  taxed?  Is  the 
privilege  of  doing  business  not  taxed  ?  Are  the 
products  of  the  farmer  not  taxed  ?  Everything 
is  taxed  but  slaves,  that  the  very  men  who 
passed  the  law  contended  have  a  monied  value, 
and,  by  their  own  argument,  show  that  they  ex¬ 
pect  to  get  that  money  from  the  sale  of  the  siaves 
or  from  their  labor  in  the  next  thirteen,  twenty- 
three  or  forty  or  more  years.  They  may  even 
extract  from  slave  sweat  what  money  they  oan 
for  some  years  and  then,  at  one  sale,  hope  to 
realize  the  present  value.  If  it  be  said  the 
slaveholder  should  have  the  full  value  of  slaves, 
as  that  value  was  before  the  slaveholders  rebel¬ 
lion,  we  can  reply  that  those  who  were  not  in¬ 
strumental  in  causing  the  war  should  be  com¬ 
pensated  by  removal  of  taxes,  or  otherwise,  for 
the  depreciation  of  their  property ;  for  impov¬ 
erished  homes,  desolated  and  waste  farms  and 
houses  that  have  yielded  to  the  rebel  torch.  Are 
others  than  slaveholders  more  able  to  pay  taxes? 


This  will  not  be  contended.  We  all  know  they 
have  been  and  are  the  most  monied  portion  of 
the  community;  that  lands,  houses  and  other 
property  are  the  usual  accompaniaments  of  sla¬ 
very  in  this  State,  or  were  before  the  war,  and 
that  slaveholders  have  now  in  their  hands  as 
large  a  proportionable  part  of  their  property  as 
others.  Why,  then,  this  attempt  at  favoritism  ? 
It  is  that  other  generations  may  see  how  difficult 
it  is  to  eradicate  from  the  minds  of  slavehold¬ 
ers,  and  indeed  from  the  minds  of  many  others, 
the  idea  that  slaveholders  are  a  favored,  a  priv 
lidged,  a  superior  class,  and  have  a  right  to 
tyranize  over  others.  It  is  that  here,  in  the 
West,  where  slavery  has  in  vain  contended  to 
enlarge  its  boundaries  over  our  extensive 
prairies,  there  may  be  a  monument  as  attractive 
as  any  on  the  eastern  boundary,  at  which  the 
curious  may  gaze  and  look  upon  the  cor¬ 
ruption  of  negro  slave  aristocracy.  This 
sixth  section  is  the  finish  of  that 
monument.  It  is  by  this  ordinance,  engrafted 
into  our  State  Constitution.  It  cannot  be  chang¬ 
ed  by  our  Legislature.  The  same  power  only, 
that  can  change  the  Constitution,  can  change 
this  law. 

But  we  are  told  this  relief  to  slaveholders  is 
but  a  small  and  just  compensation  for  slaves 
taken  from  them.  Let  us  see  tor  a  moment.  We 
have  seen  that  the  master  has  the  possession  and 
services  secure  of  the  slave  for  thirteen  years, 
as  the  shortest  period,  under  the  same  laws  that 
now  exist.  We  will  base  our  calculation  on  this 
shortest  period.  A  child  now  born  remains  an 
expense  to  its  owner  until  the  age  of  seven 
years,  at  which  time  it  can  be  put  out  for  its 
own  support.  Credit  the  master  with  seven 
years,  at  $75  per  year — $525;  charge  the  master 
with  thirteen  years,  from  ten  to  twenty-three, 
during  which  time  $75  per  year,  exclusive  of 
support,  can  be  obtained — $975 — which  leaves 
$450  to  the”master’s  debit.  Presuming  he  has 
an  average  lot  of  slaves,  we  then  take  one  born 
July  4th,  1870,  who  remains  until  twenty-three 
years,  and  the  calculation  is  the  same — compen¬ 
sating  the  owner,  after  paying  for  past  support, 
the  same  amount  of  $450. 

We  then  take  the  slave  then  twelve,  who  re¬ 
mains  with  his  master  until  July,  1876,  six  years 
at  $125  per  year — $750  ;  after  crediting  the  mas¬ 
ter  for  support,  $525,  up  to  the  age  of  seven 
years,  there  is  the  amount  to  the  master’s  debt 
of  $225. 

The  compensation  he  receives,  therefore,  is 
$1,125  for  these  three,  one  an  infant,  one  ten  and 
twelve  years,  making  an  average  of  $375.  Cal¬ 
culate  the  interest  on  the  amount  received  each 
year,  and  you  will  find  the  compensation  is  not 
less  than  $400  for  each  negro,  an  average  of  $100 
more  than  the  average  asked  from  Congress. 
And  to  whom?  To  all  slave  holders,  disloyal 
as  well  as  loyal,  the  larger  proportion  of  whom, 
by  far,  have  been  disloyal,  and  for  the  very 
property  that  has  caused  (he  disloyalty,  and 
brought  upon  loyal,  men  all  their  losses,  for 
which  no  compensation  is  being  made.  A  too 
generous  people  are  asked  to  exempt  this  prop¬ 
erty  from  taxation,  when  all  that  many  of  the 
holders  should  ask  is  to  have  their  lives  spared 
from  the  halter. 

It  requires  no  calculation  to  show  that  the  av¬ 
erage  negro  of  forty  more  than  supports  himself 
the  remainder  of  his  life. 

If  it  be  contended  that  fhis  propertv,  slaves, 
should  not  be  taxed,  because  it  has  no  pecunia- 
ary  value,  but  because  the  slaveholders  retain 
it  for  their  convenience,  their  comfort,  the  grat- 


ification  of  feeling,  and  are  willing  for  those 
purposes  even  to  incur  some  expense  in  sus¬ 
taining  the  slave,  we  reply  that  the  man 
who  has  no  slave  pays  a  tax  on 
his  pleasure  carriage,  and  his  gold 
watch  which  are  no  source  of  profit, 
but  an  expense.  The  poorest  man  in 
the  community,  if  he  supports  a  watch,  pays  a 
tax  upon  it,  and  upon  his  only  horse. 

It  is  then  to  relieve  those  who  have,  as  a  class- 
been  more  instrumental  than  all  others  in  bring, 
ing  upon  v  ir  country  and  ourselves  the  present 
trouble  and  in  continuing  them  by  giving  aid 
and  comfort  to  the  enemy.  We  all  know  that, 
with  few  exceptions,  slaveholders  have  either 
become  active  rebels  or  have  sympathized  with 
the  rebellion.  How  few  have  taken  up  arms  in 
defense  of  the  government  we  all  know.  Of 
those  who  have,  how  few  have  given  a  hearty 
support  to  the  Administration  at  Washington 
when  it  became  necessary  to  strike  a  blow  at 
slavery  in  order  to  deprive  the  rebellion  of  its 
power?  This  ordinance  therefore  is  giving 
strength,  aid  and  comfort  to  the  most  disloyal 
portion  of  the  citizens  of  our  State,  as  a  class. 
It  is  paying  a  premium  on  the  property  that  has 
given  us  the  trouble,  by  relieving  it  of  all  tax 
and  thereby  enhancing  its  value.  Instead  of 
confiscating  rebel  property,  it  is  actually  pro¬ 
tecting  it.  Instead  of  making  rebels  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  war,  or  even  a  proportionable 
part,  the  property  of  many  of  them  now  in  the 
South  is  protected,  relieved  from  taxation.  A 
premium  is  paid  to  slavery  and  offered  to  dis¬ 
loyalty.  And,  furthermore,  this  section  not 
only  relieves  rebel  property,  but  to  the  same 
amount  will  increase  the  taxes  that  must  be  col¬ 
lected  from  other  property.  The  wheels  of  the 
State  Government  must  move  and  interest  on 
debts  must  be  paid.  It  must  be  paid  from  other 
property  than  slaves  ;  from  lands,  horses,  cattle 
and  labor  of  whites,  labor  of  the  white  masses, 
while  the  favored  few  are  to  enjoy,  free  of  taxes, 
the  labor  of  their  slaves. 

Many  questions  are  left  open.  Endless  trouble 
will  be  caused.  Various  questions  as  to  the  is¬ 
sue,  the  children  of  freed  women  born  after  the 
4th  of  July,  1870.  I  doubt  not  their  freedom. 
Then  their  support.  The  mother’s  services  ire 
secured  to  the  master,  no  provision  is  made  'or 
the  child.  The  mother’s  time  belongs  to  ihe 
master,  all  the  fruit  of  her  labor  goes  to  the 
master,  she  cannot  have  tne  means  of  support¬ 
ing  her  child  without  depriving  her  master  of 
the  same,  who  is  relentless  because  his  object  is 
to  make  all  the  money  possible  from  her  labor 
in  a  given  time,  and  so  anxious,  as  we  shall  see, 
he  is  even  unwilling  to  have  that  property  and 
labor  taxed  that  he  ma^  be  aiding  to  sustain  his 
government ;  the  child  is  thei^hrown  upon  the 
State  which  disposes  of  it  under  the  apprentice¬ 
ship  law,  and  for  a  time  pays  the  master  of  the 
mother  to  support  the  child,  and  until  eighteen, 
it  female,  and  twenty-one,  if  male,  disposes  of  it 
under  that  law;  the  mother  liable  to  be  removed 
to  one  part  of  the  State  and  the  child  left  in  an¬ 
other. 

Let  the  mind  of  no  one  be  lead  from  the  truth 
by  being  told  that,  if  the  slaves  were  free,  the 
same  amount  of  taxes  would  be  lost  to  us.  It  is 
untrue.  They  would  have  their  poll  tax  to  pay 
and  tax  upon  such  property  as  they  might  accu¬ 
mulate,  and  we  would  have  peace  in  Missouri 
and  an  honest  invitation  to  the  freemen  of  the 
world  given  to  come  here,  and  they  would  come 
and  by  their  property  and  labor  assist  us  in  the 


work  oftax-paving.  Our  wealth  would  be  in¬ 
creased  and  taxes  diminished. 

Gentlemen,  and  let  me  say,  “Freemen,”  this 
is  the  monument  that  slavery  has  erected, 
through  your  Convention,  on  which  other 
generations  of  freemen  will  gaze.  We  see  its 
forms,  its  proportions,  its  repulsive  features  as 
presented  to  any  careful  observers,  fthall  I ,  who 
was  present  at  its  erection,  say  to  you  there  is 
something  more  repulsive  still,  to  the  freeman, 
that  has  not  yet  been  presented?  It  is  my  duty 
to  do  so.  You  see  it  as  it  stands,  a  wrong,  a 
cheat,  a  deception,  an  encouragement  to  rebels  ; 
this  is  all  that  appears  on  the  surface,  and 
enough,  but  it  is  based  upon  despotism  and 
nothing  but  despotism  is  expected  to  sustain  it. 
That  Convention  knew  it  would  not  be  sustained 
by  a  loyal  and  free  people  and  therefore  re¬ 
fused  to  let  them  pronounce  upon  it  by  their 
votes. 

Every  effort  was  made  in  that  Convention,  by 
a  few,  to  have  another  Convention  called  to  act 
upon  the  subject  of  emancipation,  that  the  peo¬ 
ple  might  send  these  delegates  elected  upon  the 
question  and  therefore  properly  representing 
their  constituents  ;  but  the  lovers  of  slavery,  in¬ 
cluding  Governor  Gamble,  had  resolved  that  the 
body,  which  a  short  time  before  did  “not  im¬ 
agine”  it  would  “ever”  act  upon  the  subject, 
should  dispose  of  it.  By  a  vote  of  51  against 
30,  thirty-nine  of  the  fifty  one  being  slave 
owners,  they  did  dispose  of  it  and  attempted  to 
dispose  of  it  forever,  by  arbitrarily,  despoticallv, 
repudiating  the  people  as  the  source  of  power. 
Fifty-one  members  assumed  the  power  of  ordain¬ 
ing  a  fundamental  law  of  the  land,  on  a  subject 
about  which  the  people  had  not  been  consulted 
and  about  which  they  said  the  people  should  not 
be  consulted,  in  the  face  of  our  Constitution 
which  says  “that  the  people  of  this  State  have 
the  inherent,  sole  and  exclusive  right  of  regula¬ 
ting  the  internal  Government  and  police  there¬ 
of.”  The  people  had  not  delegated  to  their  re¬ 
presentatives  in  that  Convention  their  power  to 
act  upon  emancipation.  The  power  had  not 
passed  from  the  people.  The  representatives 
had  conferred  upon  them  power  over  but  one 
subject,  secession,  and  questions  intimately  con¬ 
nected  with  and  growing  out  of  secession.  No 
other  question,  when  members  were  elected,  was 
before  the  people.  We  therefore  demanded,  as  a 
right  for  the  people,  when  the  ordinance  was 
adopted,  that  the  people  should  be  permitted  to 
vote  upon  it.  But  no,  slavery  had  come  thereto 
perform  its  appropriate  work  and  true  to  the 
spirit  of  despotism  that  has  ever  characterized 
it,  did  perform  its  work.  It  lashed  the  people 
with  their  own  rod  amd  commanded  them  to  en¬ 
dure  the  suffering  without  a  murmur.  The 
rod  of  State  power  and  patronage  is 
now  being  held  over  us  ;  would— be 
U.  S.  Senators  are  uttering  their  cries 
the  minions  of  slavery  are  doing  the  disreputa¬ 
ble  work;  and  all  together  a  strenuous  effort  is 
being  made  to  force  the  people  to  submission. 
Threats  and  entreaties  are  used,  and  with  a  show 
of  sincerity,  we  are  told  “it  is  the  best  thing 
that  can  begot,”  and  that  it  should  “settle” 
the  question  and  stop  “agitation.”  In  June, 
1862,  the  Convention  contemptuously  tabled  an 
emancipation  ordinance  to  “stop  agitation”  as 
we  were  then  told.  In  July,  1863, the  same  Conven¬ 
tion  contemptuously  passed,  as  a  finality,  an 
emancipation  ordinance,  which  we  are  now 
told,  by  the  same  leading  men,  should  “stop 
agitation” — once  refuse  the  pap.  The  way  to 
stop  agitation  is  to  let  the  people  act  upon  the 


questions  which  directly  effect  their  interests 
and  to  exercise  the  sovereign  power  that  belongs 
to  them.  To  cause  agitation,  attempt  to  curt  the 
spirit  of  freedom.  How  long  will  it  take  a  free¬ 
man  to  answer  this  question  ?  Should  it  stop 
agitation  to  be  deprived  of  the  right  of  represen¬ 
tation,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  have  taxation  in¬ 
creased  ?  Did  it  cause  agitation  to  cease  with 
our  revolutionary  fathers?  Have  we  lost  their 
spirit,  that  we  shall  kiss  the  hand  that  would 
smite  us? 

But  I  desire,  before  I  conclude,  to  direct  your 
attention  to  another  display,  by  that  Convention 
which  desired  to  live  in  the  future  in  the  mem¬ 
ory  of  slave  aristocracy,  of  that  despotic  pro¬ 
pensity  to  rule,  which  in  its  tendency  is  equally 
subversive  of  the  free  principles  of  a  popular, 
representative,  government.  Efforts  were  made 
in  that  Convention  to  have  the  powers  of  our 
State  government  fall  back  into  their  proper 
and  legitimate  channel,  that  of  popular  sover¬ 
eignty.  We  endeavored  to  have  an  election  this 
approaching  fall,  by  the  people,  of  a  Governor, 
a  Lieutenant  Governor  and  Secretary  of  State. 
Our  efforts  were  unavailing.  The  obsequious 
minions  of  power  had  their  work  to  perform. 
That  work  required  a  disregard  of  the  right  of 
the  people  to  choose  their  own  rulers.  In  vain 
did  the  minority  contend  that  the  present  State 
government  is  only  a  Provisional,  a  temporary 
government  and  not  a  government  of  the  peo¬ 
ple,  but  the  appointment  of  which  by  the  Con¬ 
vention  was  acquiesced  in,  as  a  necessity  at  the 
time  for  thwarting  the  designs  of  the  traitor¬ 
ous  government,  and  at  a  time  when 
an  ‘  election  could  not  be  held.  In  vain 
was  it  contended  that  when  the  present 
government  was  organized  it  was  called  tempo¬ 
rary,  and  that  then  we  were  so  jealous  of  the 
people’s  right  that  we  had  a  committee  to  frame 
an  address  to  them  to  quiet  any  apprehensions 
that  might  arrise  with  regard  to  powers  un¬ 
justly  assumed  by  the  Convention,  and  taken 
from  them,  the  people.  In  vain  did  we  point  to 
the  language  of  that  Committee,  which  was  Gov¬ 
ernor  Gamble’s  language,  which  enjoined  the 
people  that  the  power  would  be  returned  to 
them  so  soon  as  an  election  could  be  safely 
held.  In  vain  did  we  point  to  the  fact  that,  in 
November  next,  the  people  are  to  go  to  the  polls 
and  elect  their  Circuit  Judges,  who  are  to  sit  in 
judgment  and  pass  upon  their  rights  involving 
great  interests,  and  their  Supreme  Judges,  to 
whom  may  go  for  final  decision,  cases  involv¬ 
ing  their  most  important  rights.  In  vain  did 
we  say  the  people  could,  at  some  time,  elect 
their  rulers  and  pronounce  upon  an  Emancipa¬ 
tion  Ordinance.  There  was  no  moving  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  that  Convention  from  the  purpose  of 
accomplishing  the  object  for  which  it  had  been 
convened  by  a  pro-slavery  Governor.  That  ob¬ 
ject  was  the  preservation  of  slavery.  It  was  for 
the  slave-holding  interest  that  a  pro-slavery 
State  administration  should  be  continued  in 
power.  A  Governor  was  needed  by  slavehold¬ 
ers  who  could  say,  “  no  countenance  will  be 
given  to  anv  scheme.”  It  was  known  that  a 
loyal  people,  who  one  year  ago  might  have 
elected  the  present  incumbents  almost  by  accla¬ 
mation,  would  now  discard  them  and,  with  their 
repudiation,  the  slave  interests  of  Missouri 
would  loose  valuable  support.  Therefore,  it  was 
necessary  for  that  Convention,  intensely  pro¬ 
slavery,  to  perpetuate  as  long  as  possible,  when 
it  was  going  out  of  existence,  a  power  of  like 
sympathy.  Therefore  the  people  have  been  ig¬ 
nored,  their  rights  disregarded,  and  promises 


made  to  them  falsified.  The  Provisional  Gov¬ 
ernment  has  not  been  terminated  but  suffered  to 
outlive  the  power  that  created  it,  and  the  State 
Government  has  not  been  suffered  to  revert  to 
its  old,  original,  rightful  channel  formed  by  our 
Constitution — popular  sovereignty. 

Freemen,  what  is  our  duty  under  the  circum¬ 
stances?  The  exercise  of  our  constitutional 
rights  has  been  withheld  from  us.  Shall  we  bend 
before  those  who  would  oppress  and  crouch  like 
slaves  that  an  oppressor’s  foot  shall  be  placed  up 
on  our  necks  ?  No!  Let  us  exercise  that  right,  the 
proper  use  of  the  power  of  speech,  which  cannot 
be  taken  from  us  and  denounce  the  usurpers, 
and  when  the  proper  time  shall  have  arrived, 
hurl  them  from  the  offices  which  they  have  dis¬ 
graced,  down  to  that  infamy  that  awaits  them. 
The  time  to  denounce  all  such  is  now  and  will 
be  forever.  The  time  to  hurl  them  from  power, 
will  be  so  soon  as  we  can  reach  the  ballot-box. 
The  place  for  the  exercise  of  our  power  will  be 
the  ballot-box.  Our  weapons  are  arguments 
founded  on  freedom,  human  rights,  morality, 
and  Christianity ;  and  oppression  and  wicked¬ 
ness  and  slavery  cannot  withstand  the  attacks. 
At  present,  we  propose  no  other  force,  no  other 
violence.  I,  for  one,  will  open  my  mouth  while 
God  gives  me  life  and  any  ability,  in  defense  of 
our  constitutional  liberties,  against  oppression, 
despotism,  rule  of  the  few  or  any  of  the  relics 
of  slavery  ;  in  favor  of  popular  sovereignty, 
freedom  of  speech  when  not  abused ;  in  favor  of 
law  and  order  and  against  violence,  and  will 
exercise  the  right  we  all  have  to  speak  of  our 
rulers,  the  people’s  servants,  and  to  discuss 
laws  and  change  them.  Here  I  shall  stand,  if  1 
stand  alone.  But  I  will  not  be  alone.  Those 
countenances  cannot  be  mistaken.  You  are 
with  me.  The  people  are  with  me.  We  want 
no  hereditary  power,  no  rulers  by  lineage.  We 
love  our  own  free  homes,  though  in  some  seclud¬ 
ed  vales  by  the  silent  brooks,  where  we  can, 
after  war  shall  have  ceased,  sit  down  under  our 
own  vines.  We  love  our  Government  in  which 
we  have  a  voice,  and  willingly  will  meet  at  out¬ 
doors,  tax-collectors  of  our  own  choice,  to  con¬ 
tribute  of  our  substance.  We  are  unalterably 
attached  to  our  institutions  that  award  to  every 
man,  humble  as  well  as  exalted,  his  mead  of 
praise,  and  permit  all  to  aspire  to  the  highest 
honors,  the  mill-boy  of  the  shashes  to  our  Sen¬ 
ate,  the  rail-splitter  to  the  Presidency,  or  the 
orderly  at  our  own  headquarters,  by  applica¬ 
tion,  industry,  and  courage,  to  rise  to  become  a 
Major-General.  We  are  wedded  to  those  insti¬ 
tutions  that  know  no  distinctions  but  those  that 
virtue  and  intelligence  make  and  no  aristocracy 
but  that  of  mind,  and  permits  an  “Irish  Maggie,” 
a  servant-girl,  to  graduate  with  first  honors. 
We  recognize  no  distinctions  but  those  made 
by  God.  We  want  no  rulers  to  say  how  many 
hours  of  each  day  wTe  shall  work  and  what  pro¬ 
portion  of  our  crops  we  shall  pay  to  support  a 
Governor  who  may  choose  to  place  in  office  all 
his  children  and  nephews,  and  all  who  may  ex 
press  a  willingness  to  kiss  his  hand  and  vote  for 
him  for  the  United  States  Senate.  We  contend 
for  a  right  to  select  our  rulers  ;  for  the  right  of 
representation.  And  shall  those,  who  have 
fought  open  enemies,  now  succumb  to  the  baser 
but  less  brave,  who  would  rivet  upon  us 
chains  while  under  the  influence  of  chlo¬ 
roform  ?  Shall  we,  knowingly,  shut  our 
eyes  and  swallow  the  opiates  prepared 
and  put  our  willing  feet  in  the  stocks? 
No.  By  that  indomitable  courage  that  defeated 
a  superior  foe  at  a  Prairie  Grove,  by  that  un- 


38 


conquerable  bravery  that  drove  back  a  brave 
and  desperate  enemy  at  a  Gettysburg,  by  that 
perseverance  and  invincibility  that  caused  a 
Vicksburg  to  yield,  by  the  daring  that  can 
change  fortifications,  by  that  God  who  makes 
strong  the  arm  of  the  right,  we  will  not  submit 
to  wrong  because  afraid  to  expose  it.  Were  we 
so  willing,  we  should  be  enslaved.  All  the  ma¬ 
terial  battles  are  in  our  favor.  God  is  showing 
himself  on  our  side.  Let  us  so  strive  that  the 
great  moral  contest  now  going  on  shall  result  in 
victory.  In  the  contest  for  popular  sovereignty, 
let  us  see  to  it  that  we  be  not  defeated. 

It  is  our  duty  then  to  prepare  for  the  ballot 
box  and  at  proper  time  to  be  found  there,  ,  and 
there  to  do  our  duty.  To  get  to  the  ballot  box, 
let  us  instruct  our  Representatives  and  Senators 
to  vote  in  November  next,  and  labor  for  a  new 
Convention  for  the  express  purpose  of  acting 
upon  the  subject  of  emancipation,  and  immedi¬ 
ately  ordering  an  election  of  State  officers,  and 
making  permanent  a  law  disfranchising  rebels. 
[Loud  cheers.] 

The  committee  appointed  to  visit  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  had  a  meeting  in  the  Senate  Chamber  this 
morning,  and  organized  by  the  election  of  Mr. 
Drake  as  Chairman,  and  Emil  Pretorius  as  Sec¬ 
retary. 

The  committee  will  meet  in  Turners’  Hall,  St. 
Louis,  on  the  23d  inst.,  from  whence  they  will 
proceed  to  Washington. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  McClurg’s  speech, 
the  Convention  adjourned  until  two  o’clock. 

AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

Upon  reassembling  this  afternoon,  Mr.  C.  P. 
Townsley,  of  Pettis  county,  offered  the  follow¬ 
ing,  which  was  adopted: 

Resolved ,  That  this  Convention  look  upon  the 
St.  Louis  Republican  as  a  corrupt  and  treason 
breeding  machine,  as  being  in  the  hands  of  the 
rebels  and  copperheads  of  our  State,  and  as 
such,  we  feel  it  to  be  our  duty,  as  loyal  men 
who  desire  the  preservation  of  our  Government 
and  the  good  of  communities,  to  discounten¬ 
ance  its  circulation  with  as  much  zeal  and  earn¬ 
estness  as  we  do  the  return  of  Sterling  Price 
and  his  followers. 

Mr.  Pike,  of  Perry  county,  spoke  against  the 
resolution  and  voted  against  it. 

The  following  by  Mr.  Hopkins,  of  Osage,  was 
adopted  : 

Resolved ,  That  upon  the  passage  by  this  Con¬ 
vention  of  their  platform  and  resolutions  that 
the  delegates  of  each  county  appoint  some  suit¬ 
able  person  of  their  county  to  canvass  their  res¬ 
pective  counties  on  behalf  of  the  proceedings  of 
this  Convention,  the  said  delegates  be  made  a 
part  and  parcel  of  the  proceedings  of  this  Con¬ 
vention. 

Mr.  Robert  J.  Rombauer  offered  the  follow¬ 
ing  which  was  referred: 

Resolved ,  That  the  State  Executive  Committee 
of  the  emancipation  party  is  hereby  instructed 
to  prepare  and  publish  an  address  to  the  citi¬ 
zens  of  the  State’s,  calling  upon  them  to  form 
State  organizations  and  a  Central  organization 
in  the  Lnited  States,  in  order  to  give  direction, 
efficacy  and  power  to  Radical  reform  in  our 
Federal  relations. 

Mr.  Moss  offered  the  following,  which  was 
adopted : 

Resolved ,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appoint¬ 
ed  by  the  chair  to  prepare  a  system  of  organi¬ 
zation  for  the  friends  of  freedom  in  this  State, 
that  shall  take  cognizance  not  only  of  the  dan¬ 


gers  now  impending  over  them,  but  that  shall 
prepare  for  future  emergency  and  trial. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  on 
the  Committee : 

Moss  of  Green,  Goebel  of  Franklin,  Jameson 
of  St.  Louis,  Trapp  of  Andrew,  Hayward  of 
Marion. 

On  motion  it  was  ordered  that  a  copy  of  the 
resolutions  asking  Kansas  to  send  a  delegation 
to  Washington  to  co-operate  with  those  from 
Missouri,  be  sent  to  Governor  Carney  and  May¬ 
or  Anthony,  of  Leavenworth. 

Mr.  Howland  moved  that  the  speech  of  Colo¬ 
nel  McClurg  be  published,  which  resolution 
was  adopted. 

A  few  motions  of  a  routine  nature  were  passed, 
when  it  was  announced  that  the  Committee  on 
Platform  and  Resolutions  were  ready  to  report. 

C.  P.  Johnson  came  forward  and  said  :  Gen¬ 
tlemen,  the  following  are  reported  by  the  Com¬ 
mittee  : 

We,  the  loyal  people  of  the  State  of  Missouri, 
in  Mass  Convention  assembled,  at  the  City  of 
Jefferson,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  our  sen¬ 
timents  upon  those  questions  of  vital  impor¬ 
tance,  made  imperative  by  the  present  condi 
tion  of  our  State  and  national  affairs,  to  assert 
those  inalienable  rights  and  privileges  justly 
belonging  to  a  free  people,  to  afford  each  other 
that  mutual  aid  and  encouragement  which  we 
owe  to  one  another,  during  the  existing  strug¬ 
gle,  and  to  proclaim  those  principles 
by  which  we  shall  be  governed,  and  which  we 
deem  necessary.for  us  to'adhereto  and  battle  for 
while  carrying  on  to  a  complete  and  triumphant 
termination  of  the  great  struggle  for  the  pre¬ 
servation  of  the  republic  and  the  security  of  the 
great  principles  of  freedom,  progress  and 
justice,  do  hereby  promulgate  and  declare, 

1.  We  will  sustain  the  Government  in  the  vig¬ 
orous  prosecution  of  the  war  to  the  complete  and 
final  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  and  to  this  we 
pledge  all  our  energies  and  efforts. 

2.  That  we  deprecate  and  denounce  the  mili¬ 
tary  policy  pursued  in  this  State,  and  the  dele¬ 
gation  by  the  General  Government  of  military 
powers  to  a  provisional  State  organization,  the 
whole  tendency  of  which  is  to  throw  back  our 
people  under  the  control  of  pro-slavery  and  re¬ 
actionary  influences,  to  paralyze  the  Federal 
power  in  suppressing  the  rebellion,  and  to  pro¬ 
long  a  reign  of  terror  throughout  large  sections 
of  the  State,  and  to  extend  aid  and  comfort  to 
those  who  are  meditating  hostility  to  the  na¬ 
tional  authority  in  other  States. 

3.  That  we  do  most  heartily  indorse  the  princi¬ 
ples  first  enunciated  by  General  Fremont  in  his 
proclamation  of  freedom  of  August  31, 1861,  and 
afterwards  sanctioned  and  embodied  in  the 
President’s  proclamation  of  September  22, 1862, 
and  January  1,  1863;  that  the  salvation  of  the  na¬ 
tion  demands  the  prompt  execution  of  said 
proclamations  in  spirit  and  letter ;  that  in 
all  forthcoming  struggles  we  shall  recog¬ 
nize  no  man  as  ^  our  standard-bearer 
who  is  not  pledged  emphatically  for  said  prin¬ 
ciples,  and  that  those  liberated  under  such  pro¬ 
clamations  cannot  be  reduced  to  slavery  again; 
and  that  we  will  not  sustain  any  reorganization 
of  the  country  that  does  not  embody  the  free¬ 
dom  principles  therein  contained. 

4.  That  this  nation  cannot  look  with  indif¬ 
ference  upon  the  attempt  of  European  powers 
to  establish  on  this  continent  a  foreign  control 
and  influences  dangerous  to  the  independence 
of  its  people  and  the  development  and  extension 


39 


of  free  principles,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  our 
Government  to  resist  any  such  innovation. 

5.  That  we  arraign  the  Provisional  Gov¬ 
ernment  as  untrue  to  the  loyal  people  of  this 
State :  First — As  having  usurped  power  and  exer¬ 
cised  it  for  sinister  ends.  Second— As  having 
prostituted  an  assumed  independent  military 
power  tothe  purpose  of  maintaining  policies  an- 
agonistic  to  the  General  Government  and  an 
institution  hostile  to  the  welfare  of  the 
State.  Third— As  having  imprisoned  loyal 
men  for  expressing  sentiments  in  opposition 
to  the  State  Government.  Fourth — As  having 
disarmed  the  loyal  population  in  disturbed  dis¬ 
tricts,  and  having  tolerated  avowed  and  enrolled 
disloyalists  everywhere,  Fifth — As  haying  is¬ 
sued  orders  in  direct  violation  of  the  articles  of 
war,  in  conflict  with  the  orders  of  the  War  De¬ 
partment — and  having  refused  to  co-operate  with 
the  General  Government,  in  cases  of  direct  inva¬ 
sion,  by  withdrawing  its  troops  from  the  service. 
Sixth — As  having  refused  to  permit  enlistments 
into  the  United  States  volunteer  forces  by  dis¬ 
qualifying  orders.  Seventh — As  having  used 
persistent  efforts  to  have  removed  from  com 
mand  officers,  displaying  energetic  action  in 
the  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  and  to  have 
suspended  all  orders  levying  assessments 
against  disloyolists,  finally  refusing  to  co-oper¬ 
ate  in  their  execution.  Eighth — As  having  en¬ 
rolled,  commissioned  and  brought  into  active 
service  known  and  avowed  disloyalists.  Ninth, 
— As  having  issued  orders  in  violation  of  the 
constitution  and  the  laws. 

6.  That  we  demand  a  policy  of  immediate 
emancipation  in  Missouri  because  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  not  only  to  the  financial  condition  of  the 
State  and  the  prosecution  of  its  industrial  en¬ 
terprises  and  internal  improvements,  but  espe¬ 
cially  because  it  is  essential  to  the  security  of 
the  lives  of  our  citizens,  the  peace  of  our 
homes,  and  the  quiet  of  our  communities. 

7.  That  we  are  in  favor  of  a  constitutional 
enactment  for  the  disfranchisement  of  all  those 
who  have  taken  up  arms,  or  levied  against  the 
Government,  or  adhered  to  the  enemies  thereof 
in  the  present  rebellion ;  that  to  allow  them  the 
free  and  unrestricted  use  of  the  ballot-box  would 
be  making  them  more  dangerous  than  they  were 
in  the  field,  and  would  tend  directly  to  the  sub¬ 
version  and  destruction  of  the  Government. 

8.  That  we  demand  of  our  General  Assembly 
to  call  a  convention  of  the  people,  to  take  into 
consideration  the  grievances  under  which  the 
State  now  labors,  and  to  redress  the  wrongs 
which  have  been  inflicted  upon  it  by  usurped 
authority ;  and  that  if  our  General  Assembly 
shall  refuse  so  to  do,  we  will  take  such  measures 
as  will  elicit  the  voice  and  the  action  of  the 
people  of  this  State. 

9.  That  Conventions  are  in  the  nature  of 
sovereign  remedies,  applied  by  the  people  for 
the  redress  of  grievances ;  that  they  are  extra 
constitutional,  and  while  the  custom  has  been 
to  signify  the  will  of  the  people  for  such  call 
through  their  General  Assembly,  yet  in  the  de¬ 
fault  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  General  Assem¬ 
bly,  or  in  case  of  their  refusal  to  obey  instruc¬ 
tions,  nothing  can  derogate  from  the  right  of  the 
people  to  act  in  their  capacity. 

C.  P.  JOHNSON,  S.  H.  PiOYD, 

JOS.  R.  WINCHELL,  A.  L.  GILSTRAP, 

JAM  ES  W .  O W E N ,  W M .  W .  EDWARDS, 

F  REDERICK  MUENCH ,  R .  M.  STEW  A  RT, 
ALBERT  JACKSON,  BERNHARD  BRUNS, 

CHAS.  A.  WINSLOW,  CHAS.  CARPENTER. 

L.  C.  MARVIN,  W.  R.  PENICK, 

H.  A.  GLOVER,  EMIL  PKETORIUS. 


Mr.  Johnson — The  committee  have  thought  it 
advisable  to  report  some  supplementary  reso¬ 
lutions  for  the  consideration  of  the  Convention, 
and  your  action. 

Resolved ,  That  we,  the  loyal  people  of  Mis¬ 
souri,  in  mass  convention  assembled,  do  hereby 
request  Hamilton  K.  Gamble  and  Willard  r. 
Hall  to  vacate  the  positions  they  now  occupy. 

Resolved ,  That  this  convention,  in  the  name  of 
the  loyal  people  of  the  State,  respectfully  and 
earnestly  urge  upon  the  President  the  removal 
of  the  General  commanding  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  the  Missouri  from  his  present 
command,  as  being  a  commander  who, 
after  full  opportunity  for  information, 
has  failed  to  become  acquainted  with  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  department,  and  to  continue  affairs 
in  that  order  and  good  condition  in  which  he 
found  them,  and  particularly  so  in  the  States  of 
Missouri  and  Kansas,  which  from  being  at 
the  time  of  his  appointment  in  comparative 
peace  and  quiet,  have  become  alarmingly  and 
almost  entirely  disordered,  and  which  disorder 
has  been  not  only  exhibited  in  the  shocking  and 
barbarous  attack  upon  the  people  of  our  neigh¬ 
boring  State,  by  a  large  body  of  armed  men, 
from  this  State  in  open  war  against  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  but  threaten  to  involve  all  order  and  gov¬ 
ernment  in  both  States,  and  the  only  remedy  tor 
which,  in  our  opinion,  is  a  change  of  depart¬ 
ment  commanders. 

Resolved ,  That  the  loyal  citizens  of  Missouri, 
viewing  with  horror  the  late  atrocious  massacre 
of  innocent  and  unoffending  Union  men 
at  Lawrence,  in  the  State  of  Kansas,  do 
hereby  tender  our  warmest  sympathies  to  those 
who  have  so  terribly  suffered  by  reason  of  that 
diabolical  pro-slavery  raid  upon  their  lives  and 
liberties,  and  that  we  hereby  pledge  them  to  co¬ 
operate  in  any  measure  which  may  look  to  a 
proper  punishment  of  those  who  instigated  that 
raid  or  participated  in  it ;  and  farther,  to  co¬ 
operate  with  them  in  any  effort  they  may  make 
to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  like  atrocities  by  the 
substitution  of  more  efficient  and  radical  com¬ 
manders  in  this  department. 

Resolved ,  That  this  Convention  return  thanks 
to  the  following  named  loyal  papers  of  the 
State  for  their  open  and  earnest  advocacy  of  the 
rights  of  the  people, of  true  principles  of  govern¬ 
ment,  and  of  the  best  interests  of  the  State,  and 
request  that  the  loyal  people  of  the 
country  give  their  assistance  and  sup¬ 
port  in  all  ways  .to  such  papers,  so  that 
they  may  be  further  enabled  to  disseminate 
true  doctrines  among  the  people  and  continue 
to  prove  that  a  free  and  independent  press  is 
one  of  the  chief  safeguards  of  the  liberties  of 
the  people:  Saint  Louis  Democrat,  Saint  Louis 
Evening  News ,  Westliche  Post ,  Neve  Zeit ,  Saint 
Charles  Democrat,  Hermann  Volksblatt ,  Westliche 
Vollcsblatt,  Kansas  City  Jo^tmal  of  Commerce , 
Franklin  county  News,  Lagrange  American , 
Bethany  Union  of  States,  Missouri  State  Times, 
Lebanon  Union,  Lebanon  Herald,  JJanibal  Courier, 
Chillicothe  Constitution,  Rolla  Express .  Ironton 
Radical,  Springfield  Missourian,  Springfield  Jour¬ 
nal  and  Perryville  Union. 

Mr.  Johnson — Such  is  the  report  of  your  com¬ 
mittee.  We  have  not  entertained  anv  difference 
of  opinion  with  regard  to  the  resolutions.  We 
came  together  to  talk  over  the  subject,  and 
have  produced  our  platform  and  resolutions. 
"They  are  not  cut  and  dried  for  the  occasion.  1 
think  we  have  incorporated  the  true  principles 
upon  which  we  can  now  stand  and  battle  for  the 


40 


principles  of  liberty  in  the  State  of  Missouri. 
[Loud  cheers.] 

Mr.  Moss — I  move  that  they  be  adopted.  They 
speak  the  right  sentiments. 

The  resolutions  were  adopted  without  a  dis¬ 
senting  voice,  the  vast  assembly  springing  to 
their  feet,  and  sending  up  cheer  after  cheer  in 
honor  of  the  platform. 

The  scene  that  followed  beggars  description. 
At  this  moment  Boehm’s  Band  marched  up  the 
aisle  playing  the  “  Star  Spangled  Banner.”  As 
they  entered  the  whole  audience  sprang  to 
their  feet  as  if  touched  by  a  magic  wand,  and 
amidst  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  joined  in 
the  grand  old  chorus.  The  dignified  President 
as  well  as  others  seemed  for  the  moment, to  forget 
himself,  while  old,  grey-headed  men  mounted 
their  seats,  and  with  moistened  eye-lids  cheered 
vociferously.  It  was  a  scene  never  to  be  forgot¬ 
ten — men  who  had  passed  ,  through  the  fiery 
ordeal  of  civil  war — men  who  had  faced,  un¬ 
dauntedly,  the  cannon’s  mouth,  shed  tears  of 
joy.  and  wept  like  children. 

When  the  band  had  concluded,  a  vote  of 
thanks  was  tendered  to  Frank  Boehm,  and  loud 
calls  were  made  for  Parson  Bratten.  The  par¬ 
son  came  forward,  mounted  the  President’s 
stand  and  started  “John  Brown,”  the  same  en¬ 
thusiasm  stirring  the  hearts  of  the  audi¬ 
ence  anew.  Eight  hundred  voices  joined  in  the 
chorus.  We  append  the  song  as  rendered  by  the 
Parson : 

John  Brown’s  body  lies  mouldei’ing  in  the  grave  ; 

John  Brown’s  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave  ; 

John  Brown’s  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave, 
And  his  soul  goes  marching  on. 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  1 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

As  we  go  marching  on. 

Ellsworth’s  knapsack  is  strapped  upon  his  back  ; 

Ellsworth’s  knapsack  is  strapped  upon  his  back  ? 

Ellsworth’s  knapsack  is  strapped  upon  his  back, 

A6  he  goes  marching  on. 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

As  he  goes  marching  on, 

We  will  hang  Jeff.  Davis  on  a  sour  apple  tree  ; 

W e  will  hang  Jeff.  Davis  on  a  sour  apple  tree  ; 

We  will  hang  Jeff.  Davis  on  a  sour  apple  tree  ; 

As  his  soul  goes  down  to  Hades  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

Giory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

As  we  go  marching  on. 

Jell’s  pet  lambs  will  meet  him  on  the  way  ; 

Jeff’s  pet  lambs  will  meet  him  on  the  way  ; 

Jeff’s  pet  lambs  will  meet  him  on  the  way  ; 

As  they  go  marching  on  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  I 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

As  they  go  marching  on. 

At  this  stage  of  the  song  Mr.  Doane  took  the 
lead. 

Bratten  was  in  prison  for  being  a  Union  man  ; 

Bratten  was  in  prison  for  being  a  Union  man  ; 

Bratten  was  in  prison  for  being  a  Union  man  ; 

As  he  went  marching  on. 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  1 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah  1 

As  he  went  marching  on. 

Mr.  Bratten  again  resumed  the  lead. 

Now  three  groans  for  the  old  Convention  ; 

Now  three  groans  for  the  old  Convention  ; 

Now  three  groans  for  the  old  Convention  ; 

As  we  go  marching  on. 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

As  we  go  marching  on. 


The  copperhead’s  don’t  want  to  go  to  heaven  ; 

The  copperhead’s  don’t  want  to  go  to  heaven  ; 

The  copperheod’s  don’t  want  to  go  to  heaven  ; 

For  fear  they’ll  meet  John  Brown  ! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

For  fear  they’ll  meet  John  Brown. 

Mr.  Bratten.  Gentlemen,  I  am  requested  to 
sing  another  verse  and  if  I  am  arrested  for 
treason  I  want  you  all  to  come  and  keep  me 
company. 

Gov.  Gamble  don’t  want  to  go  to  heaven  ; 

Gov.  Gamble  don’t  want  to  go  to  heaven  ; 

Gov.  Gamble  don’t  want  to  go  to  heaven  ; 

For  fear  he’ll  meet  Ben.  Loan. 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

Glory,  glory,  hallelujah! 

For  fear  he’ll  meet  Ben.  Loan. 

Loud  and  enthusiastic  applause  followed.  To 
portray  the  scene  is  impossible,  as  the  cheers 
cannot  be  expressed  in  type.  Never  in  the 
memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant  has  such  an 
enthusiastic  gathering  assembled ;  and  were  a 
stranger  to  enter  and  witness  the  scene,  who 
was  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  nearly  all  were 
staunch  teetotalars,  he  would  aver  that  the 
whole  convention  were  “drunk  with  new  wine,” 
as  was  charged  against  Paul  the  Apostle.  So 
intense  was  the  enthusiasm  that  many  minutes 
passed  before  the  convention  settled  down  to 
the  business  before  it. 

B.  Gratz  Brown — Can  the  Chairman  inform  me 
as  to  what  plan  of  organization  has  been  devis¬ 
ed  for  the  future  ? 

Col.  Moss  stated  that  a  committee  for  that 
purpose  had  been  appointed,  but  had  not  met. 

Mr.  Brown — I  want  to  have  the  committee 
chosen  at  once,  and  act.  For  one  I  am  not  will¬ 
ing  that  this  convention  shall  disperse  without 
taking  some  action.  We  have  got  to  do  it,  and 
let  us  meet  it  like  men.  It  is  not  oui:  business 
to  stand  here  day  after  day  and  hour  after  hour 
and  then  go  home  without  doing  it.  I  tell  you, 
you  will  be  laughed  at  all  over  the  State. 
[Cheers.]  We  have  come  here  pledged  to 
do  ■  something  to  rid  the  State  of  the  terror 
under  which  we  live.  Now  let  us  do  it.  If  we 
can  maudamus  this  corrupt  government  out  of 
existence,  let  us  mandamus  them  into  the  fu¬ 
ture  world.  [Loud  cheers.]  If  we  can  wipe 
out  of  the  statute  books  the  obnoxious  slave 
laws,  let  us  wipe  them  out.  If  we  can  induce 
the  national  government  to  come  to  our  relief 
and  say,  “You  men  of  Missouri  who  have 
struck  ithe  first  blow  in  the  battle  for  freedom, 
shall  be  sustained,”  we  will  have  accomplished 
something.  Then  I  say,  let  us  make  the  appeal 
to  the  President  and  national  authorities,  and 
sustain  the  great  arm  and  heart  of  this  nation. 
Now,  sir,  let  us  have  those  things  set  forth  in 
resolution. 

The  President—There  is  no  motion  before  the 
Convention. 

B.  Gratz  Brown — Then  I  wish  to  make  such  a 
proposition. 

Mr.  Moss — “I  again  repeat,  a  committee  has 
been  appointed  for  that  purpose.  They  will 
meet  at  once  in  the  Senate  Chamber.” 

On  motion  Messrs.  Brown  and  Pretorious  were 
added  to  the  committee,  and  they  retired  to 
consult. 

Mr.  J.  M.  Davidson  offered  the  following, 
which  was  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  we  invite  all  lovers  of  free  la¬ 
bor,  free  soil  and  free  speech  from  other  States, 
and  from  Europe,  to  seek  homes  on  the  broad 
plains  and  in^  the  rich  valleys  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  and  guarantee  them  our  protection. 


41 


The  following  resolutions  were  also  adopted  : 

R esdved,  that  the  gratnfil  I  thanks  of  this  con¬ 
vention  be  tendered  to  the  gallant  soldiers  ol 
the  Union  of  the  State  of  Missouri  for  the  noble 
manner  in  which  they  have  defended  the  honor 
of  our  State  and  nation. 

Resolved,  i  hat  the  thanks  of  this  Convention 
are  tendered  to  President  Lincoln  for  his  action 
in  arming  and  organizing  the  colored  citizens 
of  African  descent  for  the  purpose  of  killing 
rebels. 

Resolved ,  That  in  the  present  condition  of  our 
State,  the  obligation  is  stronger  than  ever  before 
upon  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly  to 
observe  and  obey  the  known  will  of  their  con¬ 
stituents,  and  that  the  people  should 
hold  them  to  a  strict  accountability  in  that 
respect,  and  should  visit  with  lasting  dis¬ 
pleasure  every  member  who,  with  selfish  pur¬ 
pose  for  the  sake  of  party  ends,  ventures  to 
misrepresent  them  on  any  point  in  that  body. 

Resolved ,  ih>t  the  members  of  this  Conven¬ 
tion  return  their  thanks  to  the  Committee  on 
Platform  and  Resolutions  for  the  able  and  effi¬ 
cient  report  which  they  hive  presented. 

Resolved ,  that,  the  Radical  members  of  the 
Legislature  be  requested  to  vote  for  B.  Gratz 
Brown  and  General  Ren.  Loan  as  United  States 
Senators. 

Resolved ,  that  we  are  under  obligations  to  the 
various  railroad  companies  for  their  kindness 
in  transporting  members  to  and  from  this  Con¬ 
vention  at  half  (are. 

Resolved ,  l  hat  we  hereby  tender  our  thanks  to 
Judge  Wells  for  the  able  and  dignified  manner 
in  which  he  has  presided  over  the  deliberations 
of  this  Convention;  also  to  Colonel  W.  C.  Gantt 
our  Secretary. 

Resolved ,  i  hat  a  State  Executive  Committee  he 
selected  by  the  delegates  of  this  Convention,  the 
Committee  to  be  composed  of  one  member  from 
each  Congressional  District,  each  member  to  be 
selected  by  the  delegates  of  his  District. 

Mr.  Fishback  called  up  the  resolution  for  the 
appointment  of  the  State  Executive  Committee. 
The  resolution  was  passed  and  the  following 
were  chosen : 

First  District — L  II.  Lightner. 

Second  District — I.  F.  Hume. 

Third  District— Francis  Kelliman. 

E'ourth  District — S.  (1.  Julian. 

Fifth  District — Dr.  Curry. 

Sixth  District — C.  A.  Winslow. 

Seventh  District— Colonel  P.  A.  Thompson. 

Eighth  District — 1.  V.  Pratt. 

Ninth  District — .  beodore  Bruce. 

The  Committee  on  Public  Safety  came  in  and 
reported,  the  following  : 

Resolved,  i  hat  in  view  of  the  serious  compli¬ 
cations  that  are  arising  out  of  hostilities  on  the 
part  of  the  Provisional  State  Government  to 
the  national  authority  and  the  national  policies 
and  the  absence  of  protection  from  inroads  from 
guerrilla  bands,  we  hereby  instruct  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  this  Convention  to  appoint  a  general 
Committee  of  Public  Safety,  composed  of  one 
from  each  Congressional  District,  whose  duty 


it  shill  be  to  confer  with  the  loyal  men  of  this 
State  to  organize  and  arm  them  for  the  protec¬ 
tion  of  their  home-,  and  in  the  event  of  no  relief 
being  obtained  from  our  present  troubles,  to 
call  upon  the  people  of  this  State  to  act  in  their 
sovereign  capacity  and  t  ike  such  measures  of 
redress  as  shall  be  found  necessary  for  their 
welfare. 

i  he  various  delegations  took  a  ballot  for 
members  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety, 
with  the  following  result. 

First  District — B.  G.  Brown,  of  St.  Louis. 

Second  District — Judge  Gwens, of  Washington 
county. 

third  District— otto  Beuhrman,  ofCape Girar¬ 
deau. 

Fourth  District — Colonel  C.  E.  Moss,  ofSpring- 
field. 

Fifth  District — Dr.  B.  Bruns,  of  Jefferson 
City. 

Sixth  District — Judge  C.  Carpenter,  of  Kansas 
City. 

Seventh  District — Colonel  W.  R.  Penick,  ofSt. 
Joseph  county. 

Eighth  District — Moses  P.  Green,  of  Hanni¬ 
bal. 

Ninth  District — Dr.  W.  B.  Adams,  of  Dan¬ 
ville. 


been 
t  he 

to  that  which 
the  platform 
marched  into 
‘■Red,  White, 


The  business  of  the  Convention  having 
concluded,  it  at  once  adjourned  sine  die. 
scene  t h  it  followed  w  is  similat 
followed  the  adoption  of 
an  I  resolutions.  .  he  band 
the  Hall,  struck  un  the 
and  Blue,  other  and  patriotic  airs  followed,  in 
which  the  Convention  heartily  joined.  Leaving 
the  State  House  the ''on vention  formed  in  pro¬ 
cession,  and  headed  by  the  band,  marched  up  to 
the  Virginia  house,  where  they  dispersed. 

At  half  past  tour  a  special  train  of  seven  cars 
left  the  city  for  St.  Lours,  bearing  homeward  a 
number  of  the  delegates.  All  along  the  route 
the  utmost  enthusiasm  was  manifested.  While 
the  train  was  stationary  at  the  various  depots 
along  the  route,  gentlemen  were  called  upon  to 
speak  in  the  various  cars.  Short.  speeches  were 
made  by  Senator  GiUtrap,  of  Macon,  Rev. 
Mr.  Bratten,  ofChillieothe.Col.  Pratt,  of  Laclede, 
Major  Drummiller,  of  St.  Joseph,  Captain  J' 
E.  P.  Doyle,  and  others,  whose  names  we  were 
unable  to  learn.  he  speech  of  Colonel  Pratt 
was  an  excellent  effort.  But  the  proceedings 
en  route  were  not.  confined  to  speeches;  patriotic 
songs  by  the  delegates,  and  national  airs  by  the 
band,  were  interesting  features. 


At  half  past  one  on  I  hursday  morning  the  train 
arrived  in  this  city,  a  procession  was  again 
formed,  and  marched  to  the  corner  of  Market 
street  and  Fourth,  when  cheer  after  cheer  went 
up  for  the  Union,  the  Convention,  &c.,  and  each 
one  sought  his  place  of  rest,  thus  ended  the 
largest  Convention  of  loyal  men  ever  held  in 
the  State. 


Note.— In  the  list  of  delegates  from  the  Sixth  Ward 
ofSt.  Louis,  the  nauies  of  John  8.  Thomson  and  it.  B. 
Bonner  should  appear.— Reporter. 


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